


Variations on a Theme

by NoPerson



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, But that one isnt as obvious because its not his pov, Keith learns to love, M/M, Major Character Injury, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), The violence isn't that graphic it's just one part
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 11:17:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 49,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14187738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoPerson/pseuds/NoPerson
Summary: Keith likes sunsets and Lance. Everything spirals from there.





	Variations on a Theme

**Author's Note:**

> I have spent a year working on this! I can't believe I actually finished it and it's so long! It technically takes place early season 2, but it doesn't really matter. I hope you enjoy!

In the distance, the bright sun splits across the sky, spilling along the horizon until it fades and falls away, slowly drifting out of sight. It’s the sunset of Keith’s desert; a glorious sunset he watches from the roof of his shack. Even if the evening air is chilled, Keith always tries to wrap his jacket tightly around his torso so he can watch the sun vanish from the sky. It always amazes him that something in life could be so consistent. No matter what happens, the sun is always destined to rise and fall with a breathtaking elegance that nothing else possesses. Keith loves the silent beauty of it, the variations that occurr depending on the amount of clouds or perhaps distant rain. Though the sun sets in the exact same way, other factors contribute to its unique beauty. The light could ripple across the clouds in violets or oranges or pinks like there is an orchard of extravagant trees planted upside down in the sky. The sky blue of a clear day could melt easily into the warms yellows of the sun and the dark shades of the night sky, dotted with shy stars eager to shine after a long day of hiding. 

In an almost tragic and lonely way, the consistent sunrise and sunset of the desert is Keith’s only companion. His future with the Garrison was killed with his expulsion, Shiro was probably dead on a distant moon, and Keith’s family is long since forgotten. He has nothing permanent except for the sun. He could spend all day drawn from canyon to canyon by the incessant feeling in his gut, only for nothing to turn up, but he could still watch the sun transition like nothing had disturbed it. 

Keith doesn’t care that he’s hopeless and lost as long as he can watch the sun, no matter where he is.

. . .

The next time Keith gets to see another sunset, he’s at a different corner of the universe on a different planet. 

Another planet means another long mission in which Voltron defeated a robeast that largely resembled a gorilla from Earth, thus freeing the habitants of the planet from the Galra. Afterwards, the people of the planet had launched a three-day festival to honor the paladins including nightly feasts and dances and a parade sporting the delicacies of the planet and the heroes themselves.

On the second night, Keith manages to sneak away from the festivities and hike to a clifftop overlooking the capital city. The rocky hills are the same shade of tan that the sand in the desert was, only this planet sports more colorful foliage that sprouts between cracks and crevices like shy bouquets of purple and pink flowers. Keith finds a calm spot near the edge where he can dangle his legs and watch as dusk unfolds. The sky is only just beginning to darken, the blanket of night revealing the stars that he now flies among. As darkness takes hold, Keith watches candlelight start to illuminate the city from inside the extravagant stone huts the people live in. In the distance, rolling fields of stone rise and fall in gentle curves like green pastures do on Earth. Passed that, Keith can see the sun.

It's not entirely unlike the sunset on Earth. The color of the star might be a little dimmer, and its size might be different, but it’s been so long since he’s seen Earth’s sunset that he’s starting to forget how it looked. Unwelcome feelings of sadness and nostalgia roll through his gut like the distant hills. He may never see his sun again, his sole companion in the desert for so many months. 

Unlike the rest of the paladins, Keith hasn’t been dealing with intense longing for Earth. They have a mission, one that is greater than any single one of them. It is their duty to protect the universe and let go of their former attachments for the greater good. But as Keith watches the foreign sun dip below the horizon without the familiar array of colors, he understands what the others mean when they talk about homesickness. 

It’s almost painful to keep watching as the unfamiliar sun disappears and leaves the city to light itself, but Keith can’t tear his eyes away.

“Hey there!”

Keith nearly hurls himself off the edge of the cliff at the sudden exclamation. He flinches so hard that when he turns around to face the intruder his right leg slips against the cliff face, causing his lower body to fall off and leave him desperately clinging to a couple of cracks and flowers. 

Lance, the intruder who scared Keith so much, gasps and widens his eyes until it looks like they’re about to burst. He leaps forward, bracing himself in a crouching position and grasping at Keith’s hands. “Oh crud oh crud oh crud! Don’t you dare die because of me!”

Grunting in irritation rather than replying, Keith grips Lance’s hands and tries to help with his slipping legs as Lance heaves him back over the edge. Lance makes sure to drag him a couple feet away before they both collapse on the hard ground. Keith’s face hovers over a cluster of short blue flowers once he gets his hands secured on the ground and lifts his torso up.

“What were you thinking?” Keith growls, watching as Lance shakes his head to rid his face of cliff dust and lounges on his side like he did nothing wrong.

At the sound of Keith’s voice, Lance glares sharply with his mouth pulled into a pout. He brushes off more dust from his paladin armor before sitting up fully and pettily crossing his arms. “What was I thinking? What were you thinking? I’m not the crazy one who thought it would be a great idea to dangle of the edge of a cliff!”

“I wasn’t expecting someone to come up here and disturb me! You should’ve known better than to sneak up on me!” Keith now sits in a position that frustratingly mirrors Lance’s own posture. 

“I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you! I was just coming up to have a friendly chat! You’re the one putting yourself in danger!” Lance rises from sitting down and bends over to dust off his legs. Frustrated that Lance gets to be so much taller during this argument, Keith also stands with his hands fisted at his side. 

“I wasn’t putting myself in danger, I was just sitting down!”

“If you weren’t putting yourself in danger, then why did you just almost die if not for my heroism?”

“I have a jetpack; I wouldn’t have died. I just needed to get my bearings.”

“Jetpack or not, I still helped save you! You won’t always have a jetpack to fall back on, so a simple thank you would be very much appreciated.” Lance turns his head away, chin stuck up and a huff pushing past his lips. 

Keith sighs and runs a hand down his face. It feels as if all of the fight has drained out of him “Thank you, Lance.”

Clearly, Lance wasn’t expecting an apology to come so easily because his head snaps forward, eyes wide and mouth gaping like a fish. “Really, just like that?”

Keith doesn’t respond, he just moves back to his spot on the cliff and drops down, his legs swinging over the edge again. He grabs a handful of some moss-like plant sprouting out of the ground next to him and pulls it apart piece by piece. “Yeah, just like that.”

Keith expects Lance to leave and go back to the others. He must be missing the party, all of the socializing and dancing and potential flirting that could occur. Surely, he and Hunk should be getting up to shenanigans right now. 

Instead, Lance’s soft footsteps crunch over the hard dirt and come to a stop at his right side. Keith watches in awe as Lance sighs and sits down in the same position, hanging his legs off the cliff and swinging them while he leans back. He looks like he’s spending a relaxing day at the beach, not sitting on a precarious cliff next to his self-proclaimed rival. 

“Sorry I yelled at you.” Lance says uneasily. Keith starts to feel bad once he hears how hesitant his voice is. Keith never means to get into explosive fights with Lance, but it seems he can never stop himself before it goes too far.

“Same.” He mutters. His heel clips the side of the cliff and sends a tiny piece of rock sailing through the air. “Why aren’t you at the celebration?”

“I dunno,” Lance sighs. “I was having a blast for a while but then all everyone wanted to hear about was the battle and it got kind of old after a while.”

“You, Lance, the Blue Paladin of Voltron and notorious partier, got bored?” Keith hopes that his disbelief doesn’t hurt Lance.

Lance laughs at that, but it’s not his typical full laugh that boils up from deep in his gut until he has to release it. It’s a sad and empty laugh that sends chills down Keith’s spine. “Yeah, looks like I’m turning into you. Thankfully, I don’t have the mullet yet.”

Keith smiles. “Yeah, looks like it.”

The pair drifts into a comfortable silence, not their typical tension that comes when they refuse to apologize, but a silence that is built on their mutual company. Keith wishes they could be like this more often, but he’s too afraid he’d end up ruining everything. And right now, he’s afraid they’ll start fighting again if he doesn’t come up with something to say.

“Do you ever,” Keith struggles to find the right words. “miss certain things about Earth?”

“All the time!” Lance immediately responds, his torso leaning towards Keith and his eyes shining with a mixture of excitement and sadness. “I miss the rain. Whenever it rained, I’d go out with my siblings and we’d have competitions to see who could find the deepest puddle or make the biggest splash and afterwards when we went back inside, we’d leave all of our dirty boots and jackets on the porch and make cookies.”

Lance looks at him with shining eyes, his mouth half open like he wants to continue but is afraid he’ll speak out of turn. As encouragement, Keith gestures his hand like he wants him to continue and knows it was the right thing to do when Lance’s face lights up and he grins. 

“I miss the ocean, too.” He sighs and looks out at the fading sun. “My family had a house right next to it and we were practically raised to go to the beach and have fun in the ocean. I miss all of the sandcastles and napping in the sand and pranking someone who was napping in the sand.” He huffs out a small laugh at the last one and Keith can’t help but wonder if he’s remembering a specific memory. “And at the end of the day, we’d all gather on the beach and watch the sunset. Man, it was the best on the ocean.” He raises his arms and waves them excitedly while he talks, painting a picture with his hands that Keith is pretty sure he can already see inside his own mind. “The light would reflect all along the water and the sky would be filled with so many colors, sometimes not just orange but like, purples and pinks and blues and it was so pretty to watch.”

Lance sighs and Keith wants to reach out to him, to offer out some sort of truce or comfort or something to show that he knows what he means, that he’s not alone. But he hesitates, because he’s never been in a situation like this before, where someone has willingly bared their soul while he just sits there closed off and scared of doing the same thing. He hesitates, but he takes a deep breath and lets go.

“Lance,” He begins to say, smiling softly. Lance had resorted to curling his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them, isolating himself, but at the sound of his name he perks up and tilts his head to the side. “I miss sunsets too.”

For a moment, there is no reaction. Lance merely blinks as if he hadn’t heard a word Keith said. Keith is on the verge of panicking and hurling himself completely off the cliff when Lance sits up eagerly and smiles with all his heart and soul. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Keith clears his throat nervously and returns to watching this world’s version of a sunset. “They were amazing in the desert, all colorful like you said.”

“That sounds nice,” Lance sighs, his line of sight drifting back to the quarter of the sun they can still see. “Heh, this one’s pretty similar, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s definitely not the same.”

“Yeah, never the same.”

They sit in silence as the sun finally falls away entirely. The city is now entirely self-sustainable, with twinkling lights glittering frequently like its own sea of stars. The beautiful lights in the serene darkness give Keith a thought, one he would never share if this moment had been any different. He gathers himself, breathes in and out deeply a couple of times, and turns once more to Lance.

“If you don’t worry about it too much, the city looks like an ocean reflecting the stars.” He shuffles his hands awkwardly and turns away from Lance, scared of what he might say. 

But after what seems like an eternity of silence, Keith turns back around to see Lance’s reaction and he feels like his heart stops.

Lance is smiling the smile that reaches his eyes and makes it look like they’re containing all his tears, of joy and of sadness. Then, quietly, he says, “Thank you.”

Keith’s heart flutters in his chest. 

. . . 

Keith can’t remember ever going to the ocean.

The closest he’s ever had to it was a public pool he went to once. It wasn’t a very pleasant experience. There were children screaming and running, rogue band aids floating in the pool, and the stench of chlorine gave him a headache.

But now, Keith’s gotten closer to seeing the ocean through Lance’s eyes, and that’s good enough for him.

. . . 

Lying in his bed that’s floating in a castle in space, Keith realizes he has a problem. A little problem named Lance.

In his dreams, Keith sees quaint little sunsets and sparkling blue eyes and wakes up more confused than he’s ever been. During the day, he and Lance are ridiculously civil. Well, for the most part. They still argue over the tiniest things, but there’s no more venom in their words meant to bring the other down. When Lance makes ridiculous jokes, it’s all Keith can do not to laugh too hard at them. After their conversation on the cliff, something has changed in their dynamic, something that makes Keith uncertain and jittery.

So, naturally, Keith does his best to bury the issue deep and avoid it for as long as possible.

But life seems to have other plans. 

While he’s extremely busy reverting back to his desert hermit phase by lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, red lights start flashing everywhere and alarms start blaring and the next thing he knows he’s wearing his paladin armor and running down the corridor to the control room. 

At the same time, Lance sprints out of his own room and spares Keith a friendly smile. “Hey! Do you know what’s happening?”

“No idea!” Keith shouts back. “One way to find out.”

Upon arrival in the control room, Keith expects something grim. Maybe the princess is in her own armor, her hair pinned up professionally and a no-nonsense expression on her face. Maybe the rest will already be there, gathered in a morose circle as they plan their response to yet another horrific Galra attack. But when Keith and Lance arrive, he sees none of that there. 

The princess is wearing her casual dress with her hair flowing in white locks down her back. She is smiling kindly - which could either mean she’s content or about to put them through a rigorous training exercise – and she appears to be having a pleasant conversation with Coran who is also looking extremely chipper in what should be a tense situation. Shiro is also there, standing off to the side with his helmet off and looking as dumbfounded as he can without completely abandoning his composed-leader look. 

Keith and Lance slow to a stop in the middle of the room by the three others. Lance looks at him with a puzzled expression and Keith can do nothing more than return the same gaze and shrug. 

“Keith! Lance!” Allura proclaims cheerily as she clasps her hands to her chest. “Thank you for arriving so promptly, and in uniform too!” She raises an eyebrow at them and Keith doesn’t know if he should be irritated or flattered.

“Uh, what’s going on?” Lance asks, arms crossed over his chest with his helmet clutched in one hand. Keith follows his lead and removes his own helmet to hold under his arm at his side. 

“I will explain everything to you shortly,” Allura assures them as her expression turns from pleasant to mildly irritated. “But we must first wait for Hunk and Pidge to arrive.”

“Don’t worry, Princess!” Coran pipes up with one hand twirling the tip of his moustache. “I’m sure they’ll be here shortly! Those two were probably just working with some of the castle’s systems.” His eyes get distant and nostalgic for a moment. “Ah, youth.”

Keith looks over at Lance to find him raising the same questioning eyebrow as himself. Across from them, Shiro’s confusion has settled down to amusement at Coran’s statement.

Thankfully, they don’t have to wait long because Hunk and Pidge come running in to join them, both breathing heavily. Hunk leans over and grasps his knees to catch his breath and Pidge puts her hands on her hips and breathes deeply. Suddenly, Hunk snaps his torso up and gasps.

“We’re so sorry!” He cries. “Pidge couldn’t find her helmet!”

Her eye twitches with noticeable irritation. “Like you’re one to talk! You couldn’t find yours either!”

“It does not matter who couldn’t find what.” Allura intervenes. “If this were an actual emergency, or even a training exercise, I would be very disappointed in your timing and wardrobe malfunctions, but that is not case.” Behind her, Coran nods along with his eyes closed and if Keith didn’t know any better, he would think he was listening to some really entertaining music. 

“Then what are we doing here, Princess?” Shiro asks respectfully.

“I’m glad you asked!” She says as if she wasn’t already going to tell them. “Due to our recent missions, we need to restock some necessities and find some tools for repairs. Coran and I have decided that this could be a good opportunity to take a break and relax.”

Lance perks up and lets out a disbelieving laugh. “We’re going on vacation!” He looks over at Hunk who has a similar look of joy. They laugh and rush to each other, chanting Lance’s words in sing-song voices while Hunk picks Lance up by the waist and spins him around the room like they’re dancing at a ball. Everyone cracks a smile and Keith even has to laugh a little at their antics.

Hunk puts Lance back down but that doesn’t stop his enthusiasm. He turns to Allura so quickly it makes Keith’s head spin. “What kind of place are we going to?’

“It is a planet we have already freed from Zarkon’s control. They have agreed to let us keep a low profile while we enjoy their hospitality and receive supplies. Do you recall Salutem?” Allura informs them.

They all pause for a moment, trying to remember which planet that was. It wasn’t the one he and Lance had their heart-to-heart on, and it wasn’t recent enough for Keith to specifically remember so –

Pidge is the first one who figures it up and she starts jumping up and down in the air, yelping and raising her hand like she’s in school. “Oh! Was it the really small one with lots of islands and the people who looked like alien crabs?”

Allura smiles brightly. “I still so not know what you mean when you say ‘crab’ but otherwise fantastic, Pidge! Their leader has promised us all of the supplies we need along with a lovely place to stay for as long as necessary.”

Lance and Hunk grin at each other again. “We’re going to the beach!” Lance exclaims and Keith can see him getting more excited with every second. They start jumping up and down, this time at arm’s length. 

“We’ll be free to relax! We can play volleyball and go swimming and experience the local cuisine and-” Hunk starts to count off on his fingers.

Lance’s grin takes an almost sinister shade. “We can drink cocktails!”

Shiro’s smile falls off. “No, definitely not.”

Allura and Coran share equal looks of confusion before Allura decides to speak up. “What is a cocktail?”

“Something none of you,” Shiro takes his time glaring at his fellow paladins and Keith can’t help but feel a tiny bit hurt, maybe. “Will be enjoying anytime soon.”

The promise of no alcohol doesn’t seem to keep Hunk and Lance down for long because they soon continue to jump and squeal and plan their various activities.

“Though I appreciate your enthusiasm,” Coran starts to say. “We still have a purpose on Salutem. Finishing the repairs on the castle will be our top priority and once the hard work is done you’ll all be free to enjoy the islands!”

The mood in the room dims slightly, but Keith doesn’t feel dejected at all. Staying in one place without much work would usually drive him insane, especially after becoming a paladin of Voltron, but getting everything out of the way first thing will ease his mind and allow him to relax.

Keith looks to his left and sees Lance still smiling and laughing with Hunk. For some reason, he turns and grins cheerily at Keith with no warning and Keith feels jittery and cold. 

At least he hopes he can relax.

Allura sends them all back to their previous activities and promises that they will arrive at Salutem shortly. Until then, she wants them to pack a bag with some necessities for their stay while they are on the planet. They can always return to the castle, of course, but she finds it more sensible to have what they need in order to maximize their efficiency.

Keith returns to his room and starts filling an overnight bag with what he’ll need. He doesn’t have much in the first place, but he makes sure to pack his clothes and blade and everything he has in the bathroom. He’s debating whether or not to pack an Altean novel Coran recommended when there’s a knock on his door.

With an eyebrow raised he puts the book down on his bed and walks over to open his door. He doesn’t know who he was expecting, but he’s definitely not expecting to see Lance leaning against the wall with a huge smile on his face.

Keith raises an eyebrow. “What are you doing here?”

Lance makes a pouty face, wrapping his arms around his helmet and clutching it close to his chest. “I finished packing and figured I should dazzle someone with my company.”

“Why not Hunk or Pidge or literally anyone else?” Keith asks, honestly confused. 

“Aw, come on!” Lance sighs. He pitifully looks into Keith’s room with a pleading expression so Keith relents and steps off to the side so Lance can gladly step inside. “Can’t have you having an uneventful packing experience!”

Keith doesn’t dare ask what Lance’s apparently eventful packing was like. Instead of replying, he just lets Lance wander curiously around his tiny room and hovers just in case he goes through anything he’s not supposed to. 

Lance tosses his helmet on the bed where Keith’s own helmet is residing and sighs with disappointment. “I thought your room would be more exciting than this.”

“What were you expecting? It’s not like we had any warning to bring stuff from Earth.” Keith’s pretty sure that there hasn’t been time for any of them to do light shopping for room decorations. 

“I don’t know, maybe knives hanging on the walls, a weird jar of desert sand.” Lance pauses in his speculations to pick up the book laying on Keith’s bed. “Oh, Coran gave this to me too! No spoilers, please, I’m only on chapter two and Coran told me that it starts to get really good in chapter five.”

“I haven’t even started it.” Keith admits. 

Lance covers his mouth and gasps as if he’s been personally wronged. “You haven’t even started it! I’m pretty sure Coran gave it to everyone, so maybe we should all read it and have like book club meetings on it!”

“I don’t know…” Keith hesitates, but Lance keeps making that pouty face so he rips the book out of Lance’s hands and shoves it into his overnight bag before slinging it over his shoulder. He keeps his face pulled into a carefully crafted scowl focused on the floor so he won’t have to see Lance’s look of pure joy. “Let’s go see if the others are ready.”

They both grab their helmets from the bed and make their way down the hall. Keith does his best to pay attention without seeming too invested as Lance does his best to summarize the plot of Coran’s based solely off of the back cover and his own two chapters of reading. By the time they reach the control room, Keith is getting the idea that Coran’s favorite novel is some sort of cross between a romance and a mystery. 

Upon their arrival, Keith notices that everyone else is there and Lance’s bag is already sitting on the floor next to Hunk. Wisely, he doesn’t say anything about it. 

“Great!” Allura exclaims. “Let’s head down and greet our hosts!”

Through the viewing screen, Keith can see that they are starting to descend into Salutem’s atmosphere. The planet is a great deal smaller than Earth, about the size of its moon. It’s covered almost entirely by an aqua ocean that looks like the purest parts of Earth’s own tropical waters. Hundreds of islands varying in size are sprinkled on top of the crystalline waters and create random spots of dark brown and tan. 

Allura lands the castle beside a wooden dock reminiscent of a pier on Earth. She leads the paladins outside with a bright grin on her face as the higher ranked members of Salutem’s society make their way to their landing spot where the waves are still rocking from their arrival. Behind them, a large crowd stands in anticipation of their presence and starts to applaud as soon as they walk out into the fresh air. 

The citizens of Salutem are a bright and welcoming people to all who come to visit. Their upright bodies are covered in a flexible but hard shell that encloses their bodies like a crab’s shell. Their heads are large and triangular with their eyes perched close to the top and their shells varying in color from bright blues to dark reds. To accompany their vibrant shell colors, the crab-like people adorn themselves in shells and sea plants to accessorize and show social status. The Galra had occupied this planet for centuries to mine mineral deposits in the ocean essential to the ecosystem’s stability. When Voltron had first come to their aid, the poor creatures had been severely deprived and malnourished, making their shells dull and flaky. The ocean had been a murky gray and the Galra’s mining plants had seriously polluted the water to the point of harming the citizens when they were forced to go down and slowly chip away at the mines for the benefit of the Galra. Once Voltron had defeated the Galra and removed the last of their mining plants, the planet had been on its way to a slow recovery. Keith is glad that they can return and see the planet so far along in their process of revitalization. 

The leader of the Salutemites - a tall being with a dark blue shell draped in kelp and seaweed and a necklace made of glittering white shells – steps away from her cohorts and claps her forearms, making a sound like rocks smacking together. “Princess Allura! Paladins of Voltron!” She looks over at Coran and seems unsure about how to refer to him. “Hairy-faced friends!”

Next to him, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge start shaking uncontrollably with barely suppressed laughter and Coran looks back at them briefly to glare. Allura and Shiro both smile politely and Keith himself almost breaks down when Lance looks over at him with tears of mirth spilling out of his eyes. 

The leader continues with a wide smile, apparently oblivious to the reaction she has started. “Welcome back to Salutem! We are so honored that you chose our home as the place to reside while you repair your ship and recuperate!”

“Thank you for having us, Dulcis.” Allura responds pleasantly. “I am glad to see your people doing so well!”

“Yes!” Dulcis seems enthusiastic about this too. “Thanks to your help, my people are healthy and flourishing.” With a wave of her scaly arm, she gestures back at the people she speaks of and they start cheering wildly. “If you need anything, please, do not hesitate to ask.”

“The repairs shouldn’t take longer than a day. After that, I’m certain we will all be thrilled to experience your planet.”

“Of course! Would you like to be shown to your residence before you get to work?” 

“That would be perfect.” Allura smiles at them and quickly flicks her eyes back to them as if she’s making sure they’re behaving. At this point, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge have all calmed down but Keith knows how easily they can all be set off again. 

Dulcis has one of her companions guide them to the side of the dock where a small boat is waiting for them. As their yellow-shelled guide pushes away from the dock, he forgoes a paddle and uses his wide arms to scoop the water away and propel them forward. For a while, the crowd onshore continues to cheer and wave them off. Lance is happy to stand and cheer back at them while the other paladins and Allura and Coran go for more delicate waves. Keith chooses not to wave at the citizens and eventually they disperse throughout the main island and Lance sits down next to Keith. He distracts himself by leaning precariously over the side of the boat.

Lance whistles in admiration. “This planet is gorgeous.” He trails a hand lazily over the top of the water, leaving gentle ripples in his wake. Beneath the brilliant blue Keith can see bright stones and ridges growing bright green plants. Lance sighs and the sound snaps Keith’s attention back to him. “The water’s so warm and soft.”

“Most of the planet’s ocean is shallow, so this system’s sun can heat it up more easily. The mineral deposits that the citizens depend on make the water much more soothing than you Earhtlings may be used to.” Coran explains cheerily. “It’s just nice to see that the planet has recovered so much since we left them.”

They all nod in agreement. At the back of the boat, Keith can tell that their guide is smiling at the nature of their conversation. The sun is warm on them and the ocean has a pleasant smell as if it has been stewing tons of fragrant flowers. Even the sound of their guide slowly paddling them to their temporary home is soothing, the water bubbling and dripping in a frequent and delicate pattern. All around him, Keith can tell that his friends are enjoying their surroundings. Lance and Hunk are leaned against each other, comparing every aspect of the water to the oceans on Earth. Pidge has her arms crossed and supporting her on the side of the boat as she leans over with wide eyes and watches her reflection shift in the water. Shiro is listening to Allura and Coran as they discuss the reparations that need to be done but even they look calm and at ease. It’s as if the water has washed away all of their stress, allowing them to take a break. 

Keith looks around and he too is at peace. He leans back comfortably and rests his head on the side of the boat. He can hear the boat gliding through the water as he looks back at the island they left behind. At this point, it has become a bumpy sliver on top of the shining water. He’s sure that if he looked the other way he could see their destination, but the sun feels nice on his neck and he feels lethargic so he might as well just stay in this position.

“Well, well, even Keith likes it here.” Lance’s voice comments on his other side. His words lack his usual bite, his delivery softer like he’s pleased Keith is acting this way, but that doesn’t stop it from immediately ticking Keith off.

He shoots up and he can feel his face reddening from the embarrassment of being caught in such a defenseless position. “And?” He snaps back bitterly.

Hunk is peering over Lance’s shoulder inquisitively as Lance raises his arms to appease him. “Nothing! Just making an observation!”

Keith wants to reply with a snarky comeback but he can’t bring himself to fight when the air is so warm and the water is so beautiful. He huffs in irritation and leans back with his arms crossed. Across from him, Shiro has an eyebrow raised like he can’t believe Keith didn’t fight back. Keith glares at him until Shiro smirks and looks back at Allura and Coran.

“Oh, look at that!” Pidge exclaims leaning further forward with her hand pointing excitedly at the front of the boat. She leans so far that she almost falls and Shiro has to pull her back by the collar of her suit. 

In the distance, Keith spies an island much smaller than the one they left from. Though they still have a bit to go, he can see tall tropical trees that have bright yellow trunks and orange leaves. He can just barely see a yellow and green building right on the beach that must be their lodgings. 

“Magnificent!” Coran compliments. “None of the trees, or buildings for that matter, were so brightly colored on Altea.”

Keith wonders if Altea had an ocean like this. He wonders if Allura and Coran’s hearts are aching for the sea from their destroyed home. Keith may miss some aspects of Earth, but at least there’s always the chance that he could return. The Alteans don’t have that luxury. All they have left is a faint memory of a planet from 10,000 years ago.

They are silent from growing anticipation as the ride finishes and the guide pushes their boat ashore. They hop off one by one, bags on their shoulders and eagerness in their stiff limbs as they trek across the sandy beach to the wooden house, which is built upon a matching wooden platform. It only has one floor but it’s very wide and stretches out into the water, held up by poles and an outdoor deck over the waves. The guide directs them to a side door on the beach before he departs to wait for them back at the small boat.

At the door, Allura stops them all and faces them with a stern face and her hands on her hips. “Alright, Paladins. Put away your belongings as quickly as possible. I want us to get our work done today.” She opens the door and leads them up the steps.

Inside, it almost looks like a large log cabin on Earth. The first thing they see is a long living room with a fire pit in the middle and elegant couches arranged around it. To the side is what appears to be a kitchen, though Keith doesn’t recognize any of the silver appliances in there. To the left are four doorways. Keith peaks inside all of them, discovering that three are bedrooms and the other is some kind of fancy bathroom with more unrecognizable amenities. One of the bedrooms has one bed, another has two, and the last one has four. Keith grimaces at the thought of what that means for their sleeping situations. 

Before anyone can speak up, Allura tosses her bag into the room with the only bed. “I’m taking this room!” She sounds almost gleeful at the prospect of solitude while also inhibiting her companions.

Keith watches in horror as Coran sidles up next to Shiro and pats him on the back. “Shiro and I can take the double! Don’t worry, my friend, I’ll regale you with tales from my boot camp days and maybe you can share a few of yours in exchange!” Coran looks excited at this thought and Shiro’s expression is a fascinating mix between polite, terrified, and eager.

Allura turns to Keith, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge. “Well, it looks like you four will have to room together.” She eyes them suspiciously and Keith notices that her gaze lingers on him and Lance. “That won’t be a problem, will it?”

Keith wants to prove his desire to not fight by remaining silent, but Lance has other plans. “Don’t worry, Princess! This’ll be just like a slumber party!”

Pidge grins evilly and jumps in the air ecstatically with Hunk grasping her arms. “Aw yes! Sleepover!”

Keith can’t help but smile wistfully at them. Back on Earth, he’d never been to a sleepover before. 

Lance looks over at him and winks and Keith feels his face getting red against his will.

On the way back to the main island, Allura delegates tasks to each of them. Pidge and Hunk were to pair up and go through the various floors and rooms of the castle and look for any errors or damage. Pidge would do the tech and computer repair and Hunk could do the physical repair and look for damage in any of the physical systems. Keith and Lance would scale the outside of the castle to fix any damage and attend to any outer flaws Coran or Allura know of. As an afterthought, Allura places Shiro in their little group, figuring that a task over such a large area would be easier with three of them. She and Coran would remain in the castle, scanning their systems and directing the paladins if need be. 

As soon as they return, Pidge and Hunk disappear into the castle to the sound of Lance’s overdramatic farewells. Allura bestows Keith, Lance, and Shiro with compact Altean toolboxes that strap onto the thigh of the paladin suit and are lighter than any toolbox Keith has ever held. She gives each of them some kind of retractable rope that harnesses around their torsos and instructs them to attach their ropes to the top of the castle. She wishes them luck before she disappears inside.

“Ready, mullet?” Lance grins at him.

Keith sighs and puts on his helmet. “Let’s get this over with.”

The three of them jetpack to the top and attach their ropes as they were told to. Then, slowly and precisely they start to repel down the sides of the castle. Keith does his best to move side to side as much as possible so he doesn’t miss anything. The work is painstaking and boring, but he knows it has to be done so he keeps his mouth shut and inspects every inch of white paneling with a vigor that shouldn’t be reserved for such an uneventful job. In some places, Keith finds something loose or a piece of the castle ready to fall off. With his practically magical toolbox, Keith manages to tighten and smooth out every flaw he comes across. 

While, for the most part, his work is boring and quiet, Keith isn’t the only one doing this slow work. From the other side of the castle, Keith can hear Lance humming the melody of a song he’s never heard before, but he can’t bring himself to tell him to be quiet. The soft notes of the mystery song drifting quietly over to his workplace are actually soothing. It breaks the monotony of the work just a little bit and Keith scolds himself when he feels his foot subconsciously tapping against the castle. 

Keith is about halfway down the side of the castle when a tap on his shoulder startles him so badly that he shrieks. Looking at him with an amused face is Shiro, his arm still extended from tapping him. He had somehow climbed all the way from his side to Keith’s with some unknown purpose. 

Across the castle, the humming stops and Lance pipes up with concern in his voice. “Keith? Are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” He responds, glaring at Shiro. “Don’t worry, I just slipped a little.”

Lance notably scoffs. “Psh, I wasn’t worried!”

Keith doesn’t dignify that with a response and after a few ticks, Lance goes back to humming. 

“Shiro, what are you doing?” Keith asks exasperatedly. He trails his arm down a short length of panel and finds a corner jutting out. From his toolbox, he retrieves a thin took resembling some sort of mix between a screwdriver and a toothbrush. He activates the strange tool over the corner and starts running it up and down. Surprisingly, he finds himself disappointed when the tool’s whirring drowns out Lance’s humming.

“You’ve been acting strangely.” Shiro comments. Keith hates how Shiro is always invested in the well-being of others. He understands why it’s admirable and useful, but it still annoys him. “I just wanted to make sure that everything’s okay.”

“Everything’s fine,” Keith grits out. He pushes harder on the tool to get the bent corner to move. “Nothing’s wrong so you can just go back to your job and leave me alone.” His grip on the bent corner slips and Keith yelps when the tool makes a wide arc and barely misses his thigh.

“You sure you’re okay?” Comes Lance’s concern from afar.

“Everything’s fine!” Keith snaps. His chest is heaving with his frustrated breathing as he goes back to his repairs and the knowing smirk that Shiro is wearing does nothing to calm his nerves. “What?”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing,” Shiro teases. He grasps Keith’s shoulder for a second and Keith wishes he could hate the comforting reassurance the gesture gives him. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Shiro.” Keith mumbles as he finishes up his current repair and Shiro swiftly jetpacks back to his area.

The rest of his work is uneventful. He repels even more down the side and finds little to no damage. Every time he looks down at the ground, there’s a small group of Salutemites chatting amongst each other and watching in awe as they witness three paladins work. Closer to Lance’s side, a couple of the creatures are giggling so Keith knows Lance must be interacting with them in some way. Below him, a couple of them are waving shyly so Keith gives them a short wave back. 

Before he knows it, Keith has made his way all the way down his side and his feet are touching the water. He swings off to the side and lands on the dock where he undoes his harness and lets it fly to reconnect with his rope. Mere ticks later, Keith hears a splash off to the side and witnesses Lance swinging to disconnect beside him. 

“Done!” He shouts victoriously.

“I finished first.” Keith declares with a smirk. 

“Barely!” Lance points out with a friendly smile. He nudges Keith in the shoulder with his elbow. “Ready to head inside and return these weird things to the princess?” He gestures to the toolboxes still on their thighs. 

Keith raises an eyebrow at Lance’s eagerness. “Shouldn’t we give Shiro a hand with the other side?”

Lance waves his hand dismissively and Keith hopes this doesn’t get him into trouble later. “Nah, he’ll be fine! He’s the head, he can do twice the amount of work we can without breaking a sweat!”

Keith hopes that’s true, but he doesn’t feel like it’s worth it to argue with Lance at this point. If they head inside, maybe they can help out with other duties. 

As they make their way through the castle towards the control room, they literally run into Hunk and Pidge. Keith gets the wind knocked out of him when Pidge slams into his chest at top speeds. He’s still wheezing while Pidge gasps out an apology and Hunk wraps Lance into a sudden and strong hug.

“Woah, what’re you guys running from?” Lance asks. He steadies Hunk when he pulls away.

“I’m so glad you guys are here,” Hunk manages to get out between gulps of air. To Keith’s surprise, he breaks away from Lance’s grip and wraps him in a tight hug that lifts Keith off of his feet and leaves him dizzy. There are tears at the corners of Hunk’s eyes when he pulls away and genuine concern boils in Keith’s gut. “It’s like the food goo all over again!”

“Hunk,” Keith reaches out his hands in what he thinks is an appeasing gesture and takes deep breaths in and out to set an example. “Calm down and breath. What happened?”

Thankfully, he stops hyperventilating and Pidge seems to have gathered her own senses so she bursts back into the conversation. “We were going through the training deck to see if there were any malfunctions and we must have discovered some sort of virus when we were searching because the invisible maze activated and then a couple of training bots just appeared and we had to navigate out without any guidance while the bots were coming after us and-” 

“It was terrifying!” Hunk continues for Pidge, his hands fisted and clutched against his chest. “We barely found our way out of there and we locked the doors so they couldn’t follow us, but I don’t know if it really worked so we ran to find you!”

“It’s okay,” Lance pulls them both into side hugs. “We’ll help you get rid of them.”

“Thank you so much!” Hunk exclaims, looking at both him and Lance. It warms Keith’s heart to see that Hunk has so much faith in them. But then again, he too supposes he’s grown to have that same confidence in the team.

Keith and Lance lead the way back to the training room at a steady jog, Pidge and Hunk following closely behind. “Have you tried contacting Allura and Coran?” Keith shouts at them.

Pidge responds and if Keith were looking back, he’s certain he would see her face pinched in frustration. “The connection was on the fritz and we figured me might as well find some help and fix it thoroughly later.”

They come to a stop at the doors of the training deck and Keith can’t help but be reminded of the last time this part of the castle went haywire and tried to kill him. They all pull out their bayards and as Keith’s sword materializes in his hand, he feels that familiar rush of adrenaline surge through his veins. Even if they’re only going up against some malfunctioning training bots rather than trained Galra soldiers, Keith will never get tired of the thrill in his blood that pounds in his ears and tenses his muscles. 

“Wait,” Lance speaks up, making them all turn to look at him. He too has his bayard out, but he holds it loosely at his side instead of battle-ready at his shoulder. “You guys said that the invisible maze had activated, right?”

Hunk and Pidge look at each other and nod and Keith wants to hit himself in the head when he realizes where Lance is going with this. “We need someone to guide us through if we don’t want to be shocked.”

Lance nods and they all look at each other. Keith can sense the strange tension as they size each other up to see who will crack first. Keith wishes that Pidge could reprogram the maze so it didn’t affect them, but he’s sure that would take too long and it might not even work because of the malfunctions. 

Lance sighs and his bayard disappears. “I’ll go do it. I can tell you guys what to do with our communicators.” With a quick salute before anyone can argue, he races off to access the viewing room and leaves them all waiting to go inside. Keith frowns as he watches him disappear around a corner. 

He hopes Lance doesn’t think they didn’t want him fighting alongside them. They’re all good fighters in their own right. Pidge is quick-thinking and quick-witted, always quick to learn her enemies’ weaknesses and come up with a plan in seconds. Hunk may be scared and anxious most of the time, but he is a force to be reckoned with when he knows there’s a job to be done and people to save. Keith spends almost all of his free-time training just so he can improve his skills with the sword. And Lance – well, Keith doesn’t like to think it or say it due to the risk of Lance finding out – has his own unique battle strategy. His aim is impeccable and he can come up with original ideas to solve almost every problem the team encounters. In all honesty, Keith admires the way Lance fights with a confident air that benefits everyone around him. They might have had a rocky start, but Keith likes to think that their teamwork has greatly improved. He just wants Lance to realize that too and not feel like he’s being booted off the island because of some lacking skills.

“Okay, guys,” Lance’s voices crackles in their helmets and Keith can see his companions raising their bayards higher in anticipation. “I’m up here, go inside and I’ll guide you through.”

Pidge uses the gauntlet on her armor to unlock the training deck’s doors and they rush in at once, bayards at the ready. Keith can immediately see that the two training bots are wandering around at opposite ends of the maze. They wobble like they’re drunk and occasionally bump into the invisible walls, shocking them so they shake their heads and move in a different direction. It reminds Keith of villains in an old arcade game he’d seen once when he was a kid, ghosts moving around a maze in search of their prey. 

“Alright,” Lance says. Keith looks up and can faintly see Lance watching over them, stretching out his hands like he’s about to tackle a difficult piano piece. “If you move straight forward, there’s an entrance right into the maze.”

Trusting Lance not to shock them, Keith charges forward with Hunk slightly behind on his right and Pidge in the same position on his left. Keith can’t really tell when they enter the maze but he knows that Lance has to be intensely focused right now and he won’t let them move too far. 

“Stop stop stop!” Lance shouts loudly enough to make the speaker in his helmet whine in distress. Keith skids to a stop so suddenly that it feels like the soles of his boots are burning. “Okay, there’s a sort of intersection here and each way goes to one of the bots.”

“We can split up,” Hunk grimaces like the thought leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. “Two of us can go to one and one of us can go to the other.”

“Well, I can’t guide two groups at once,” Lance says. “Someone will have to wait their turn while I guide one group.”

“Besides,” Pidge holds one hand up to her chin while she thinks. “It won’t be really efficient to fight in a maze where we can’t even see the walls. It might be wisest to just have each of the groups work as bait and lure the bot out so there’s more room to fight it. 

“I can wait first,” Keith pitches in. “Pidge and Hunk can get their bot out on the other side, then Lance can help me to mine and I can lead it back this way.”

They all agree upon that plan and Lance starts to carefully spout out directions for Hunk and Pidge. Without the walls visible, the pair looks almost comical as they stop and start at random, taking sharp turns and skidding like a couple of easily distracted runaway chickens. Soon enough, they reach their bot and it locks onto them almost immediately, eye flashing red as it starts to chase them. Lance’s directions come quicker and smoother as Pidge and Hunk simultaneously dodge the robot’s attacks and scramble to get to their exit. Once they’re out, Keith hears Lance heave a great sigh.

“Alright, mullet,” He teases. “Now it’s your turn.”

Keith tries to hide his smirk as he grips his bayard tightly and waits for Lance’s instructions. Like he did with the other two, Lance leads Keith smoothly through the maze. His voice is calm and his directions precise so Keith never doubts what he says, he just does exactly as he’s told and he’s rewarded by not smacking into an unseen wall. Across the room, he can see Hunk and Pidge battling their robot like a well-oiled machine. Hunk lures the dummy from side to side by shooting at it, disorienting it and putting it in certain places so Pidge can swoop in and swipe at it with her own short bayard. Keith wonders if this is how he and Lance would have fought together if he had stayed with them.

As soon as his training bot catches sight of him it starts chasing him, forcing Keith to turn around and start moving faster than he had been. Lance’s instructions don’t falter for one second, even with the sudden change in pace. Though he’s speaking much faster and Keith has to register and react with more speed, he still speaks clearly and doesn’t get distracted from his task until he finally lets him know he’s made it out of the maze. Keith runs a little closer to the side of the training deck to gain more ground before he turns around and widens his stance.

“I’m coming down to help!” Lance quickly tells him and Keith will definitely be grateful for the assistance.

As the bot swings it long staff and he barely catches it with his sword, Keith wonders if the castle’s malfunction defaulted to make these high-level bots. Keith himself has barely made his way through level four, which is difficult enough, and the expert slices and hard hits of this bot that Keith can barely keep up with are unlike any training bot Keith has gone up against. For what seems like hours but is probably about half a minute, Keith alternately dodges and strikes at the bot. It’s practically indestructible and every hit it lands on Keith’s blade jars his arms until he feels like his limbs are buzzing. Keith dodges low and tries to strike its legs but it jumps and brings one leg down to kick Keith’s chest, sending him slamming back into the wall and gasping for air. He can’t catch his breath and his head is spinning and he’s wondering if he could actually be killed by a simple training bot when the door swishes open. 

Lance walks in with a broad grin and his bayard held firmly against his shoulder. He spares Keith a confident smile before he blasts the bot three time in the chest and sends it flying back into the wall of the invisible maze which shocks it and leaves it in a momentarily dazed slump on the floor.

Quickly, Lance walks over to Keith and helps him stand. “You okay?”

Now that he’s upright, it’s much easier for him to catch his breath and he feels his lungs fill with blessed air. “Yeah, thanks.” He realizes that he’s still gripping Lance’s hand so he quickly lets go and uses that hand to inconspicuously rub his chest. “Let’s finish this.”

As the bot rises, it’s clear that it’s a lot more unsteady than it was before Lance shot it. Keith takes the opportunity to smack its staff away and slash at its limbs. When it finally regains its footing and tries to surge forward at him, Lance fires a few more shots in its gut, chest, and head. This sends it flopping on its back with a loud smack and before it can swipe at Keith’s legs, he slams down his sword and drives the blade through its head.

Keith stands back, breathing heavily from both exertion and the thrill of victory, and he and Lance watch as the bot makes a whirring sound and is finally defeated. Hunk and Pidge have finished with their bot and they inch slowly along the walls back to the others, carefully tiptoeing so they have no chance of hitting one of the invisible maze’s walls. 

“Nice job,” Lance compliments, bumping him teasingly with his shoulder. “We make a good team, don’t we?”

The familiar words echo in Keith’s ears and he wonders if Lance has been lying about his memories for all this time. Even if Lance is trying to get him to notice the similarity, Keith doesn’t do anything about it. “Yeah, good job, sharpshooter.”

At the nickname, Lance’s cheeks darken with blush and he snaps his head to the side, but that doesn’t stop Keith from seeing the coloring on his cheekbones as it spreads all throughout his face and down part of his neck. His reaction makes Keith smile. Keith doesn’t think he’s ever seen Lance blush so much from such a small compliment, but it’s certainly something that fills Keith’s heart with pride, smugness, and tiny bit of something that aches and warms his chest that he cannot place. 

“Oh my god!” Hunk exclaims, rushing at him and Lance and sweeping them up in a warm and firm hug. Pidge makes her way over with a smirk and her arms crossed only to yelp when she too is swept up in Hunk’s arms. Keith finds his chest pressed against Hunk and his shoulders pressing on Pidge and Lance on either side. “I’m so happy we’re alive!”

The door swooshes open once more and Keith barely manages to turn his head without head-butting Lance’s neck. Shiro peaks his head inside, apparently finished with his task, and blinks like he’s not sure what to do. “What happened in here?”

Against Keith’s shoulder, Pidge sighs. “It’s a long story.”

Then, the whole situation feels like it clicks in Keith mind, including their current awkward position. Before he can stop himself he snorts and starts laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. The Hunk starts laughing a booming laugh that shakes them all and Lance starts to laugh with a beautiful sound that’s ringing in the room and Pidge starts doing a weird mix of giggling and wheezing and they’re all laughing together in Hunk’s arms while Shiro stares at them like he just found their dead bodies. When Keith looks over at Lance his head is thrown back and his eyes are closed and watering at the edges. Lance’s bright eyes suddenly open and his wide open smile turns to Keith and doesn’t budge. This time, Keith is the one blushing all the way down his neck while he thinks Lance looks complete when he’s laughing and happy and he never wants this moment to end.

Then Hunk tips over and they eventually sober up from their laughter while Shiro herds them together and guides them to the control room. But Keith can’t even begin to forget what Lance’s face looked like when he was laughing. 

By the time Coran and Allura finish polishing off the repairs and they finally head outside, the sky has gone dark. Torches line the side of the dock on tall staffs, illuminating the wood and making the nearby water shimmer. In the distance, torches stick out of the ground in front of shops and even hang in metal dishes from tall posts and light up the tall wooden buildings with bright fronds making up the roofs. The dirt street is almost completely empty, with only a few citizens going on a slow stroll beneath the lights. From their small boat, Allura kindly thanks their guide and assures them that they can make their own way back. The guide bows and points out a triangular paddle that he bestows upon Allura before they depart.

The way back on the small boat is just as beautiful as their first trip, if not more so. So many stars are visible in the sky that it makes the torchlight back on the main island almost obsolete. The stars reflect on the water and blend the sea and sky, making it practically impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins. All of them are silent on the way back, both exhausted from the long day of work and in awe of the gorgeous view. Keith has his arms crossed on the edge of the boat and his torso twisted so he can rest his head on his hands and watch as they glide over the water. He turns to his left and nearly jumps in surprise when he sees Lance’s eyes wide open and staring at him. He too is leaning on the side of the boat, almost a mirror image of Keith, but when Keith discovers his gaze, Lance doesn’t move a muscle, he just smiles lazily until Keith can’t help but smile back. He notices that Lance’s eyes are much like the sea they’re cruising over, so deep and blue and full of something that calls to him. The stars are reflecting in Lance’s eyes and just like the water, Keith can’t tell where they end and the sky begins and it almost feels like he’s drowning.

Allura lands them gently on shore and they climb out with shaky limbs and shuffling feet that leave wide trails in the sand. Keith is about ready to pass out anywhere, never mind it being on the beach, but he knows he would regret that decision in the morning. 

Inside, Allura bids them a goodnight and vanishes into her room. Coran drags Shiro into theirs after swearing an oath that he’ll save his stories for another day. In the remaining paladins’ room, they take turns changing in the bathroom and one by one falling into their twin beds that form a rectangle in the room. While the others wear their silky color-coded pajamas found in the castle, Keith finds the air too warm to wear anything other than his regular black t-shirt and his red boxers. When they’re all in the beds’ cool sheets with the window’s curtains closed, Keith lets out a sigh of relief and prepares to finally rest.

“Goodnight, Hunk,” Lance starts and Keith’s eyes snap open at the sound to stare at the dark ceiling.

“Goodnight, Lance.”

“Goodnight, Pidge,” Lance continues.

“Mm-hm,” She mumbles back.

“Goodnight, Keith.” Lance finishes, his voice barely above a whisper.

Keith sighs and closes his eyes. “’Night, Lance.”

He doesn’t know when he falls asleep, but the next time he opens his eyes there’s light leaking in under the curtain and slowly creeping across the floor. He feels both groggy and well-rested and there’s a tiny bit of drool dried at the side of his mouth that he sluggishly wipes away. He can hear snoring from somewhere in the room, but he can’t tell who it’s from and when he sits up and looks around, he can see that Hunk’s bed is empty and neatly made. With nothing else to do, Keith gets out of bed as quietly as possible and makes his way out of the bedroom and in the direction of the kitchen. 

From across the living room, Keith can see that Hunk is hard at work with the various ingredients and strange appliances the Salutemites provided them with. The smell wafting from the kitchen is unfamiliar, but it’s like some sort of mix of roses and sea salt and some other sweet smells that all come together and fill the room. Keith pads around the edge of the couches and makes his way to a stool by the kitchen counter. Hunk is humming as he moves swiftly across the floor, mixing and stirring and looking through various cabinets with his apron over his neck and tied around his waist. He’s so invested in his cooking that he doesn’t notice when Keith takes a seat at the separate counter behind him. To not scare the yellow paladin, Keith leans his arm on the counter to prop up his head and knocks on the wooden surface gently with his free hand. Hunk instantly looks up from what he’s doing and looks behind him at the sound. Instead of screaming in fright, he smiles widely and waves a hand.

“Oh, morning, Keith!” He says amiably. His voice is soft, probably because he doesn’t want to wake everyone else up prematurely. 

“Morning,” Keith replies with a small smile. He cranes his neck to look around Hunk’s side and catches a glimpse of a white bowl with a long spoon resting in it. “What’s that?”

“Huh?” Hunk tilts his head and looks behind him before smiling again. “Oh, I’m just trying to make some breakfast. I can’t understand anything in here so I’m just going off of what looks familiar.”

Keith hums his acknowledgment and rises as Hunk returns to happily stirring his mysterious breakfast. While Hunk busies himself, Keith starts going through individual cupboards in search of something even remotely resembling cereal and a bowl to put it in.

“What’re you looking for?” Hunk questions from behind him. He has the bowl held in the crook of his elbow and is still smiling that welcoming smile. 

“Just some food.” Keith feels weirdly defensive like he’s a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. 

Suddenly, Hunk’s smile falls into a confused expression and he looks so devastated that he stops mixing. “Do you not…” Hunk pauses in his distress and Keith feels as if he’s made a grave error. “Want any of this?”

If Keith’s being honest, whatever Hunk is working on smells absolutely delicious, but he didn’t want to overstep his bounds. But now, he can see that Hunk is seeing his politeness as rejection. “I don’t want to be a burden.”

“Nonsense!” Hunk exclaims, shooting the arm with the mixing spoon in it up into the air and spraying little bits of batter everywhere. “I’m making this for everyone to eat.” He chuckles to himself. “Silly Keith,” He puts down the spoon and bowl on the counter and faces Keith with his hands on his hips like some sort of superhero. “Take a seat and relax, I’ll have this ready in no time.”

Keith feels bad about misleading Hunk so he shuffles his feet and scratches the back of his neck. “Do you need any help?”

Hunk looks like he’s about to burst with happiness and tears gathering at the corners of his eyes look like they’re proving Keith’s theory. “I would be honored if you would help me!”

Keith smirks and moves to stand at Hunk’s side in front of the counter. “I should be saying that about you, you’re the one with all of the skill.”

“Aw,” Hunk grins. “That’s sweet, but I’m sure you’ve got some untapped potential!”

Keith does not, in fact, end up having some untapped potential.

Using the pancake batter equivalent Hunk had been whipping together, Hunk shows him how to spoon out the right amount of batter onto a griddle he’d found and demonstrates how to expertly flip pancakes onto plates. Keith burns his first two pancakes to a crisp and when he finally keeps one long enough to flip, he accidentally flips it into the wall and turns it into a half-baked, half raw smear. Even Hunk gentle reassurances that practice makes perfect aren’t helping and Keith soon decides it would be best if he left that to Hunk, took up some other task, or did everything possible to not touch anything else. Hunk doesn’t want him getting bored, so he gives him a small knife and a variety of colorful fruit and tells him to cut up the fruit into squares and put them in a bowl. At least Keith has some experience with a knife.

Hunk gives him some kind of peeled purple apple-like fruit, a smooth orange plant with green vines that resembles a pineapple, and something that smells like mango but looks like a pink avocado. As they work on their separate tasks, Hunk fills the comfortable atmosphere with stories about various kitchen mishaps of his own as some attempt to make Keith feel better about his own disaster. It doesn’t really help, but Keith appreciates the effort while mentally deciding never to try pancakes again. 

“How did you survive in that shack if you can’t make pancakes?” Hunk sounds genuinely curious and well-meaning but the question still makes Keith feel jittery and defensive and he pauses in his cutting. 

“I didn’t really cook,” He eventually answers. “Cereal, microwave meals, scrambled eggs were the extent of my skills and I rarely had those.”

“Geez,” Hunk comments, looking over his shoulder with a sympathetic frown. “That must’ve sucked, just cooking for yourself and living off of sad, cold food.”

Keith wants to point out that it wasn’t all cold but he figures it would be pointless. Besides, he didn’t get to treat himself to fine cuisine in the desert. He just ate what was cheap and gave him what he needed to survive. “Why do you like cooking so much?”

Hunk sighs and looks wistfully at the ceiling. “Well, I think it’s fun to try new things and make up combinations without knowing for sure what the end result may be. But mostly, I just like making other people happy. If they enjoy my food and it makes them happy, then what else could I ask for?”

Keith smiles fondly. “That’s really sweet, Hunk.”

“Aw, thanks, Keith!” Hunk beams at him then gives him a stern but playful expression. “Now get back to slicing!”

With a smirk, the two fall into a companionable silence disturbed only by the consistent slicing of Keith’s blade and the occasional sizzling of the griddle. After a while, Keith has all of the fruit cut up and in the bowl and Hunk proudly boasts a large plate stacked with at least twenty perfectly brown pancakes that Keith could only dream of making. While they wait for the others to wake up, Hunk experiments with some kind of coffee equivalent that’s much sweeter but makes Keith feel wide awake. 

While Hunk is telling Keith about some of the weird foods he’s found in the cupboards so far, their teammates are slowly starting to trickle out of their rooms. Allura emerges first, dressed in her day clothes and smiling widely when she sees them sitting in the kitchen.

“Good morning!” She greets them, her eyes widening when she sees the stack of pancakes next to Hunk. “Fantastic, these look delicious! Well done, Hunk.”

Hunk bumps Keith’s shoulder with his elbow. “Actually, Keith helped me out too.”

If at all possible, Allura’s eyes get bigger and her smile gets wider. “Good job, you two! I’m sure everyone will be grateful.”

Hunk pulls out a small silver plate and some silverware and dishes out some fruit and a couple pancakes before handing it over to the princess. She accepts the plate and a fork quite happily and digs right in. Hunk sighs and alternates looking at the remaining closed doors and his enormous pile of pancakes.

“I hope they come out before it gets too cold,” He worries as he grabs a stack of more plates and a handful of more silverware to place dejectedly next to the food.

Keith grabs a plate and fork and dishes out a couple pancakes and scoops out some fruit. He holds the plate out for Hunk to take, who looks at it with a puzzled expression. “Take it. If the food’s cold, that’s their problem, not yours.”

Hunk beams at him and sits down with the plate. While he and Allura eat, Keith gets some food for himself and pushes it around the plate, only taking an occasional bite. The pancake is still warm and it tastes like a sweet butter that melts on his tongue. The fruit’s pretty sweet too, and Keith thinks their appearance is very tidy, so he mentally pats himself on the back for that.

Next, Shiro and Coran emerge from their room ready for the day. They both look well-rested, so Keith takes that as a sign that Coran kept his promise and didn’t keep them up with conversation. Upon seeing the food laid out on the counter, their faces both light up and Keith sees what Hunk means when he talks about making food to make others happy. 

“Exquisite spread, Hunk!” Coran compliments, helping himself to the food. “Maybe one day I’ll show you how to make a good old-fashioned Altean breakfast.”

“Thanks, Coran,” Hunk smiles. “But Keith helped out, too.”

Shiro smiles at them both. “Nice job, you two.” After Coran’s finished getting his food, Shiro puts some on his own plate and then frowns at the crowded countertop. “I don’t think we’ll all be able to fit here.”

“That’s alright,” Allura chips in. “We can move to the lounge.”

Once they all either nod or voice their agreement, they take their places on the couches and continue eating. Hunk entrusts Keith with guarding his plate while he cleans up the kitchen. He’s notably overlooking the pancake Keith flipped onto the wall and he doesn’t know if he should be honored or embarrassed about that.

Pidge emerges next, her day clothes ruffled as she slowly walks over the kitchen like a zombie. Her nose is likely her guide as she sways from side to side and somehow makes it to the counter unharmed even with her eyes half-closed. She sloppily slaps a pancake and some fruit on her plate and shuffles over to join the others. Keith moves Hunk’s plate to his other side so Pidge can sit by him at the edge of the couch. 

“Morning, Pidge,” Allura greets her, much more chipper than Pidge is even capable of at the moment. In response, Pidge hums politely, but she’s already focused on the food in front of her rather than the people surrounding her.

The morning air is warm and comfortable, both from the temperature of the room and the people conversing inside it. Allura, Coran, and Shiro are trading ideas for what the day’s activities should include and they all seem to be leaning towards exploring some of the islands. The more Pidge eats, the more clarity seems to return to her eyes as they open more and her posture straightens out. Hunk finishes tidying up everything except Keith’s wayward pancake, which he supposes is turning into a shrine for his lack of cooking intuition. 

Finally, Lance rises from their room fully dressed, well-rested, and his eyes bright and alert. He smiles at everyone and stretches his arms high above his head with a pleasant sigh. “Good morning, everyone!” He sniffs the air and looks delighted at what he smells. “Ah, I love pancakes!”

Hunk hands Lance a premade plate and receives a pat on the back as thanks. Lance is turning to walk over to the couches when he freezes and tilts his head in confusion. Keith follows his line of sight and blushes when he finds Lance staring at the wall pancake.

Lance grins shyly at Hunk. “Kitchen malfunction, buddy?”

Hunk smiles good-heartedly and looks in the direction of Keith’s rapidly reddening face. “Keith tried to help out and it ah, didn’t go very well.” He knows that Hunk doesn’t mean any harm and just finds it genuinely amusing, but that doesn’t stop him from glaring fiercely when Hunk reveals his fault. 

“Aww,” Lance turns around and gives Keith a teasing smile that makes his stomach churn. “Good try.”

Keith glares at him and Hunk alternately. “At least I was awake to help.”

Lance’s mouth forms a pout as he walks over. “Hey, it takes a lot of precision beauty sleep to keep up my stunning looks!”

Keith hums in disbelief but doesn’t retort. As much as he wants to respond with a sharp jab about Lance’s looks he just can’t. Keith has seen him with face masks on too many times to not believe that Lance takes great care with his appearance, and Keith would be lying to himself if he didn’t take notice. 

Turning back to his nearly finished plate, Keith expects Lance to make his way to the opposite end of the couch in a prime position to glare at him, but he instead makes his way in front of Keith, collapsing smoothly to the floor with his legs crossed as he chows down like nothing about his placement is strange. Hunk climbs over the back of the couch and settles down in the empty space on Keith’s right. When Lance turns around to say something to Hunk, Keith feels like his brain fills white noise as his shoulder briefly rubs against Keith’s knee, leaving a trail of warmth that makes the rest of Keith’s body shiver. On his left side, he feels a sharp nudge and he whips his head around to find Pidge with her elbow jabbed in his gut and a raised eyebrow pulling up part of her tired face. Keith ignores her by staring down at his plate, but he can still feel her inquisitive gaze burning holes in the side of his face.

Once everyone has had their fill of Hunk’s cooking and the pancake stack has been reduced to nothing, Allura gathers their attention and asks them to discuss what to do today.

“Shiro, Coran, and I were thinking of a little bit of exploration,” She proposes. Her hands are holding a cup of spiced tea in her lap that had been brewed after Hunk had nearly torn the kitchen apart looking for something at least similar to it. “Just a little look around so we get to see everything Salutem has to offer. Dulcis has already told me that she would love to show us around.”

“That would be fun,” Pidge says. Keith is glad to see that wakefulness has fully returned to her eyes. “The last time we were here, we didn’t have time to stick around. I think it would be interesting to see what the planet has to offer.”

“Yeah!” Hunk agrees. “It looked there was some sort of market down the road from the castle and that might be fun to walk through!”

“Great!” Allura smiles at each of them. “Once we’re all ready and the kitchen is cleaned, then we can head out!”

It’s only now that Keith realizes he’s the only one left in his pajamas so he escapes to their empty room while the others gather the dishes and migrate to the kitchen. He changes as quickly as he can and decides to tie his jacket around his waist due to the heat, not completely abandoning it in case he does get chilly. By the time he gets back, the couches have been wiped clean of any breakfast crumbs and the group has moved back to the kitchen. Shiro and Allura are sitting on two of the stools and sipping at their respective teacups while Coran puts things away in cupboards and occasionally interrupts their conversation about different teas on Altea and Earth. Pidge is on the last stool, having commandeered a cup of the coffee equivalent and lurking over it so no one even dares to come close. Behind them, Hunk and Lance are respectively scrubbing and rinsing off the dishes, leaving them in wet piles on Lance’s left. 

Keith finds a dry cloth folded on the island and swiftly takes it, falling into place next to Lance and immediately taking up the stacks of plates and silverware and wiping them dry. Lance does a double-take at Keith’s sudden appearance but easily shakes it off with a grin. He waits for Keith to catch up and then starts handing each new dish to him for Keith to quickly finish off and set off to the side. 

After the kitchen is so clean that it practically sparkles, they head out to their small boat and begin the journey back to the main island. It’s still morning, so the sun is fairly low. It cuts harshly over the water, creating the illusion that the ocean is on fire. This trip feels shorter than the other ones and Keith’s pretty sure it’s because he spaces out staring at the burning water.

The castle is shining majestically when they pull up next to it, the low sun painting the sides a beautiful orange but also reflecting the light painfully like some sort of defense mechanism. They climb onto the dock one by one and wait for Allura to tie it off before they head off the dock and in the direction of the town. They way they’re huddled together, Keith feels like they’re a group of tourists and in a way, he guesses that they really are. 

Having never actually set foot in the town, Keith takes his time to observe his surroundings. The buildings aren’t extremely tall, about three stories at most, but they are all brightly colored ad look cute and welcoming. Their wooden structures that vary in shade of soft yellow and light green and roofs covered with long orange leaves are all reminiscent of the tall palm trees sprouting on every available patch of ground both on street corners and on the beach in the distance. Some of the buildings hang matching wooden signs off of long poles with names and words written in a language he can’t understand. The ground they walk on is dusted with the tan sand but still firm underneath. Different streets branch off between various buildings and when Keith looks either way, he can see that some lead into more streets and others trickle off into a sandy path down to the water. Overall, the lively buildings look quaint and kind in the bright light of the sun. The whole delicate scene is completed by the steady sound of the ocean’s waves washing over the sand. 

If the regular streets and buildings weren’t impressive enough already, Keith finds his breath taken away when they reach the center of town where the market is being held. The streets come together like the spokes in a wheel here, with a large open space shaped like a circle hosting the market. The wooden stalls are as bright and colorful as the people operating them, with bright pinks and oranges and blues painted on signs and the booths themselves in elegant swirling patterns. The market itself is formed into concentric rings that have occasional gaps to step through to the next level. The vibrant colors of the citizens dance amongst each other in the crowded square and make a sea of bright shells glistening in the morning sun. In the very center of the market, a tall wooden tower decorated with shells rises almost to the height of the surrounding buildings, easily allowing long twisted pink and orange streamers from the nearby rooftops to come together in a beautiful bouquet. 

“Wow,” Lance whispers next to him and Keith can’t help but agree. “It’s incredible.”

“Alright!” Allura pulls out a small silky purse and gives everyone a handful of small glittering silver rocks. “Dulcis gifted us with Salutem’s currency so you can all purchase a few things from the market. Try to be sensible and conserve your stones so you can get things outside of here.” 

With her words of warning fresh in their ears, they split off into separate directions to browse the various vendors. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge all split off into one group to excitedly approach a table sporting multi-colored squares of cloth that glimmer in the sun. Coran trails after, smiling broadly and strolling casually like a chaperone Keith had on a school trip when he was younger. Keith lets his gaze linger on them for a second or two longer than necessary, envious of the tight-knit nature of their group. He never had a group of friends as close as they seem to be, especially at the Garrison, and wonders if he’ll ever be seen as an integrated part like each of them seem to be. 

After what appears to be a moment of hesitation, Allura steps in next to him and Shiro with a surprisingly shy smile. “Do you mind if I browse with you two?”

Keith wonders if she feels the same displacement he does whenever he sees other groups of people bonded so closely together. 

Shiro, the welcoming soul he is, immediately smiles. “Not at all, Princess! We’d love for you to join us.” Keith nods along with him, not at all opposed even if he thinks it might be a little awkward. 

Keith takes the lead to guide them along the spiral of vendors while Shiro and Allura fall comfortably in step with each other while discussing the various features of the planet and any interesting merchandise they stop to look at. They come upon a variety of different items from rippling clothing to foods resembling kelp and fish. Most places give them free samples and try to give out their wares for free, recognizing them as the heroes of their planet, but Allura always insists on leaving something in exchange for their kindness. They pass a table displaying polished blades that make Keith pat his protectively. Allura stops them at a table of books that none of them can decipher but they have elaborately illustrated covers. Shiro keeps them at a table covered with tiny shells with delicate designs painted on them. One even depicts Voltron and their battle against the Galra, sword drawn and a recognizable Galra ship sliced in half before them. Shiro purchases that one to the astounded honor of the Salutemite who gives him a hefty discount. 

One table near the center of the rings especially catches Keith’s eye. Shiro and Allura move onward but Keith stays behind and leans over the table. It displays at least a dozen cards neatly lined up next to each other, all of them about the size of a postcard. Each one has a different painting, some realistically exhibiting the very square he’s standing in or even the pier they arrived next to. Others show the dreamy expanse of the night sky, tragically beautiful and out of reach. One of these cards specifically catches his eye. The bright oranges and purples and blues it mixes together precisely speak to him more than any other work of art he’s seen, painting a sunset reminiscent of the one he would watch on Earth. Wordlessly, Keith hands out about ten of his little stones which seems to satisfy the vendor. He takes his card and puts it away in his pocket while the vendor hums with gratitude and nods their head. Sure that he won’t get chased down for stealing something on accident, Keith races ahead to catch up with Shiro and Allura.

Once they’ve gone through all of the rings, the three of them hover around the central column with the hope the others will eventually make their way to them. Allura has a pleased smile on her face while she flips through the book she bought, making Keith think that she can actually read the language. Shiro turns the shell he got over and over in his hand, watching the picture with each rotation. Keith keeps his arms crossed over his chest so his hands won’t fidget with his own purchase. 

While Allura is absorbed in her book, Shiro shifts his upper body so he’s turned more towards Keith. “So, how are you liking it here?”

Keith narrows his eyes suspiciously. “Fine. It feels weird that we’re just here for fun and not somewhere fighting the Galra.”

Shiro hums and nods. “Yeah, but we’ve been doing that for some time without any kind of break. I think this will be good for everyone and give us a chance to recuperate.”

“I’m not denying that,” Keith says. “I just think it’s weird that we’re in an island paradise while Zarkon is somewhere out there terrorizing some other civilization.”

The black paladin purses his lips and puts a firm hand on Keith’s shoulder, a gesture that he knows is supposed to be reassuring even if the extra weight just makes his balance tip slightly to the side. “Don’t worry, we’ll be back out there soon, but we need this.”

Keith chews on his bottom lip but doesn’t respond.

Their other small group arrives in a flurry of motion upon seeing the three of them waiting in the center. All of them have their own trinkets bundled up in their arms and Hunk has a long piece of fabric folded and draped over his shoulder. 

Coran leads them forward, a pleased expression on his face as they bounce around with excitement behind him. On his forearm he proudly carries some kind of tote bag with a black background and swirling designs in a bright blue that practically glows. “Our trip was extremely successful!”

Allura closes her book and beams. “Coran! I love that bag!”

“It’s quite functional,” He says, brandishing it in front of him. “And the Salutemite I purchased it from gave me a very good deal for it!”

“Lance and I got a blanket!” Pidge exclaims, her eyes lighting up as she pulls the fabric off Hunk’s shoulder and gives Lance one of the corners to help her hold it up. It looks like it’s woven from a very soft material of all kinds of colors. At first, it just appears to be black but when the light hits it or the fabric shifts, Keith can see that it has the same rainbow effect in oil reflecting off its surface.

“Number five insisted on getting it,” Coran explains. “It would have taken all her money though, so Lance paid for half of it.”

“We’re going to take turns with it!” Lance says proudly as he shakes the blanket from his end. “Definitely worth it!” His gaze shifts and Keith feels like he’s staring at him now.

“Oh!” Hunk suddenly holds up a finger to the sky and rolls up his sleeve slightly. “We also got a bunch of matching bracelets!” He sticks his wrist out to display his bracelet. It’s made of golden stones varying in size that all shimmer. Next to him, Pidge and Lance stick out their arms to show off their matching green and blue bracelets respectively. Even Coran pulls up his sleeve to show off his version with orange stones. At the display of their comradery, Keith’s skin grows cold and clammy and he feels like his heart sunk back from its hopeful position into a pit of abandonment. 

He doesn’t know if Lance somehow sees the turmoil going through him, but he smiles reassuringly and reaches into his jacket pocket. “Don’t worry, we got some for you guys too!” His soft smile turns sharper when he shifts to look at Allura. “Don’t worry, Princess, we made sure yours was sparkly.”

Lance hands them all their own bracelets and Keith tries not to believe himself when he feels Lance’s touch linger on his hand when Keith receives his bracelet. His is a scarlet red that rescues his state of mind as he attaches it around his wrist. Shiro’s bracelet has black stones that appear to be a dark purple when the light catches them correctly. As promised, Allura’s present is made of silver stones that notably sparkle from every angle and make her smile. 

Keith doesn’t know if any single one of them is wholly responsible, so he makes sure to look at all of their faces when he thanks them. He doesn’t let his eyes remain on Lance’s for too long, even if he has a feeling that this is exactly the sort of thing Lance would think to do. 

“I am so glad to see you here!” Keith hears a sweet voice call from the edge of the vendors. They all look over to see Dulcis approaching them, smiling kindly with her arms outstretched. She looks around at the various items she can see in their possession and if at all possible, her smile gets wider. “I hope you found everything to be well worth your time!”

“Extremely so!” Allura steps forward and naturally back into her diplomatic position. “Would you be alright with showing around the planet today?”

“Yes!” The leader nods excitedly. “That is why I came here; I was hoping to find you in the market. I have had a ship prepared for us so if you are ready, we can start immediately.”

Everyone nods and they follow Dulcis back to the docks. She leads them back through the streets the same way they came, excitedly pointing out the various shops and some fun facts about the people who own them. Through her chatter, Keith learns that generations ago, her family was made of shell collectors and sellers until the Galra took over. After Voltron ridded the planet of the Galra and she was elected as their first leader since before the Galra, her remaining family members continued the shell business. Down a few more blocks lives the other person considered for the leadership role, and the two are close friends and have no bad blood between each other. 

At the dock, Keith sees a different boat at least three times the size of their own wooden vessel. It has a small deck and a structure in the center with windows looking out on the sea. Four Salutemites are chatting on the deck, each one holding a paddle as they wait for Dulcis’ command. 

She turns back to them and speaks in a whisper. “They all volunteered to steer my ship today just so they could get the chance to meet you all.”

They follow her onto the boat and the four rowers line up and make every single one of them shake their hands. One of them looks like they’re on the verge of tears when they finish shaking all of their hands. Dulcis pats them gently on the back and instructs them to take their positions as she leads the team inside the small cabin. A wooden bench lines the wall on half of the room with a matching table placed in the center, making it look like a continuous booth found at a fancy restaurant with wide windows above each side. The other half of the cabin has a few large cupboards underneath a large window that looks out at the water. 

Somehow, they all manage to squeeze into the booth as they start moving away from the pier and into open water. Pidge forgoes the closeness of the booth and instead chooses to sit on one of the cupboards with her legs hanging down the front. Coran stands casually off to her side, peering curiously at the walls of the cabin. Though Hunk’s stomach has been surprisingly stable for the entire trip, Keith doesn’t want to risk that in an enclosed space, so he lets Hunk take the spot on the edge booth, leaving him squeezed between Hunk and Lance. It takes all of Keith’s focus to watch with unnecessary interest as Shiro, Allura, and Dulcis settle into their side of the booth rather than noticing how warm Lance’s side is against Keith’s arm.

Within a few doboshes, the main island is turning into a shrinking spot on the horizon while the distant islands begin to grow. Keith notes that this boat is heading in the opposite direction they go to get to their vacation house. He watches as the ship cuts through the calm water and barely leaves a ripple in its wake. Lance is also gazing at the trail they leave behind, his hands calmly folded in his lap and his face soft and unguarded. Keith almost feels rude sitting next to him and being a general nuisance to his good mood. Lance’s eyes are shimmering in the way they always do when he talks about Earth, but it’s little different. It isn’t the usual longing sorrow he expresses for his family and every little detail about his home, but it’s a gaze that feels at peace in an environment so like the one he’s used to. Keith never went to an ocean back on Earth, but he knows that the water was a large part of Lance’s life and he can see it on his face right now. 

Everyone else is enjoying the view as they move along. Hunk is wisely watching the water in front of them, probably as a precaution to minimize his chances of getting sick. Pidge happily looks out the side and waves at one of the rowers who falters just a bit in their rhythm at the attention. As they move along, Keith starts to feel something weird in his chest. Like there’s some sort of warm flashlight in his heart that’s pointing him somewhere he cannot go. He doesn’t know if it’s because of being on this planet and in the water for so long, but it reminds him of the uncertain yearning that consumed him in the desert.

“We are nearing the mineral deposits of my planet.” Dulcis says, looking wistfully out over her side of the boat. Instinctively, Keith leans his neck forward to try and see something but just finds more bright water. 

“Is this where the Galra were mining?” Shiro asks. Keith understands his confusion. When they first came here, there was machinery sticking out of the ocean everywhere and most of it was still left when the paladins had to depart. 

“Yes!” Duclis is extremely proud of her response. “My people have removed almost all of the Galra’s technology. Those who do not have work in businesses on the islands are our workers in the mines. Before the Galra, workers would maintain the minerals and manage its different locations. The Galra forced them to take away almost all of our resources and leave my people desolate but now that they are gone, they work on removing the last of the Galra’s impact and take care of what is left behind. If necessary, they will work to find minerals in other places but this is our most fruitful mine.”

“Fascinating,” Allura comments. She too is peering out over the water and frowning at her lack of findings. “And these minerals are necessary for your survival.”

Dulcis nods. “The minerals contain large amounts of quintessence, so much so that it seeps into the water and spreads throughout the planet. We could potentially survive without the minerals, but it is very uncomfortable and all life here has become so dependent on this boost of quintessence that its sudden disappearance would have drastic consequences for all living things. Without it, plants and animals would die and my people would be riddled with illness. I am just happy things did not get too far with the Galra’s mission before you saved us.”

“It’s incredible how dependent this planet’s ecosystem has become on the extra quintessence the minerals provide,” Coran ponders out loud. By his side, Pidge is nodding along in agreement. “I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like it on any other planet before.”

“Yes, your planet is extraordinary, Dulcis.” Allura says and Dulcis smiles proudly. 

“Is that why the water’s such a bright blue?” Pidge inquires, tilting her head to the side.

“I do not know of any other ocean to compare it to,” Dulcis says. “But if it appears to be a different color to any ocean you may know of, then that could be why.”

“It’s kinda like the water near my home,” Lance comments, gazing wistfully behind. “But it’s kinda glowy.”

Keith stares blankly at him because of his choice of words but when Lance finally takes his eyes off of the water and looks at him, he just smiles innocently like he just spouted the most eloquent sentence ever said out of his mouth.

Hunk has his hand placed under his chin and he nods like he usually does when he’s thinking around some kind of engineering problem or working through a complicated recipe. “I know what you mean. It kind of-” He puts out both of his hands, narrows his eyes, and wiggles all of his fingers. “Glowy.”

Keith frowns and stares at the water behind him. It’s a really bright blue, ridiculously bright and calm but Keith can’t really tell if it’s glowing or not.

“Glowy.” Dulcis repeats slowly before smiling brightly. “I like that!”

Keith zones out of the rest of their conversation as they discuss the commerce between the various islands. It’s a little weird for him to be smooshed between Lance and Hunk when he’s sure they would be talking to each other if he didn’t exist. He does his best to sink into the cushions of the booth and flatten himself against the wall so it’s almost like he’s vanished. He looks out to the water while the others talk around him. It’s smooth and deep and blue and he can see an island getting closer to the by the second. The water is quiet, but he can hear the faint splashes as the rowers push through the water with their wide paddles. The sound is calming and he finds it easy to focus on until he feels like he’s being lulled into a trance, falling through the water and feeling it hold him with cool streams as he drifts and takes his mind off of the twist in his chest until it vanishes and mysteriously floats away. 

“You good, Keith?” Lance pokes his shoulder and jolts Keith out of his mind so quickly that he bangs his head against the side of the cabin. Lance winces at the sight and Hunk lets out a low breath through his teeth in sympathy. “You look like you’re constipated.”

Ignoring the throbbing at the back of his head, Keith sends a glare his way and crosses his arms. “No I don’t.”

“Well,” Lance rolls his eyes. “Now you don’t, but you definitely did just a second ago.” Lance grins and his eyes twinkle with mischief and Keith feels a different weird twist in his chest that’s not as uncomfortable but foreign enough to startle him. “The ocean getting to you, huh?”

“I have no idea what you mean.” Keith says as blandly as possible. Lance huffs out a heavy sigh that shifts Keith’s bangs as he turns to sit facing forward, leaving Keith to wonder what just happened.

“We are nearing our first stop.” Dulcis pipes up. Growing larger on the horizon, Keith can see an island growing larger as they approach. “This is going to be exciting!”

Dulcis keeps them out and about until the sun has almost completely dipped below the horizon and stars are starting to dot the sky. She had enthusiastically dragged the team from island to island for the entirety of the day, spouting out random facts about each location and making sure the team got to see practically everything. Keith had tried so many different variations on the same cuisine that he is certain he would actually die if he tried to consume more. He’s sure that everyone else feels the same way, but Hunk seems more pleased with the result. In the process of sampling so much food, Hunk had benefited the most from connecting with the chef Salutemites and sharing various recipes and cooking styles. All of the locals had been more than happy to give the paladins tours of the islands and provide them with little souvenirs, meaning they were all the proud new owners of various shell trinkets and woven placemats. 

After eventually returning to the dock by the castle, Dulcis bade them farewell and let them row back to their own little island on their own. Now back at the beach house, the group is all strewn about the seating area, too tired to go any further. Allura, Pidge, and Shiro sit together on the same couch. Pidge has her legs crossed beneath her and every few seconds, her head starts to droop backwards to land on the cushion but she jerks forward suddenly and restarts the process. Allura is sitting up straight with her posture perfect, but her eyes are also drooping. Shiro has his arms crossed, firmly tensed in a clear effort to try and keep himself awake. Coran has claimed an entire couch himself by reclining his head against the arm rest and propping his feet up on the opposite end. The final couch holds Hunk and Lance. Hunk is leaned back with his eyes closed and his hands folded over his stomach. While Hunk appears to be satisfied with staying to his own side, Lance is an exhausted mess sprawled in every which way. His legs are very much in Hunk’s personal space, one of them on top of Hunk’s lap and the other dangles limply off the edge of the couch next to him. The rest of Lance’s body is flopped over like a noodle, his arms fully extended above him head and stretching him out so much that his shirt rides up and exposes a strip of skin along his stomach. Seeing no other viable options, Keith nudges Lance’s hand with his knee and stares with what he hopes in as unimpressed expression until the Blue Paladin slowly slides his eyes up and narrows them. Wordlessly, he wiggles his torso and bends his arms so his upper body is curved slightly to expose a tiny space where Keith can barely sit. Keith admires the amount of effort Lance put in and sits down in the small spot, trying to ignore that one of Lance’s elbows is digging into his thigh. 

“We should all get to bed soon,” Allura says, yawning as if she’s proving her point. “We’ve had quite a long day.”

“Yes, Princess!” Coran immediately jumps in to agree. “I believe we should make tomorrow a free day of sorts, just leave us to our own devices.”

“That would be fine.” Allura nods but Keith can’t tell if it’s because she’s agreeing or she’s just falling sleep. “I don’t think that Dulcis had anything else planned for us tomorrow.”

They all mutter their satisfaction as best they can and start to split off. Allura, Coran, and Shiro all vanish into their respective rooms with calls of goodnight following them. Pidge goes into the four paladins’ shared room to change so Keith, Lance, and Hunk wait on the couch for her to finish.

A few minutes later, or what Keith assumes has been minutes since his eyes have been closed and he was starting to zone out, Pidge emerges in her pajamas with a yawn to tell the boys they can take their turn to change. Keith somehow gains the willpower to rise but Lance has clearly fallen asleep and Hunk looks like he doesn’t have the heart to shove his leg off of him. Even if Hunk doesn’t, Keith does and he doesn’t even hesitate in pulling Lance’s leg swiftly off of Hunk, allowing the Yellow Paladin to escape and setting off a chain reaction along Lance’s body where he starts to slide off the couch until his torso falls victim and Keith watches with no remorse as his entire body slips off of the couch. Lance jolts awake as his head hits the floor and his mouth gapes open like a fish while he tries to regain his bearings. 

“Come on,” Keith sighs. “Go get dressed so you can sleep in an actual bed and not bother me.”

Lance looks up at him in horror. “I trusted you! I welcomed you onto our sacred couch and this is how you treat me?”

“You barely even gave me any space!” Keith huffs down at him. “What am I supposed to do with a corner?”

“Oh, you were fine!” Lance assures him. “Stop complaining!”

“Easy for you to say, you took the entire couch!”

Hunk is standing off to the side with a sad look mixed between exhaustion and fear. From Shiro’s room, the older paladin’s voice groans, “Please, not now.” Pidge is giving them an unamused look that probably matches what Shiro’s face would look like if he were here.

Lance frowns and grumbles out some complaints but he pushes himself up and rises, back hunched and footsteps heavy as he stomps back to their room. Keith and Hunk follow behind him and for Hunk’s sake, Keith tries to keep his glaring to a minimum as they change in silence. Keith has now accepted that the planet’s air is always warm so he changes out his shirt for a fresher one, strips down to his boxers, and collapses onto his bed without bothering to pull the sheets over him. He listens to the squeak of springs as Hunk gets in his own bed and the irritated scoff as Lance passes him to go to the bathroom and complete his routine. Soft footsteps patter across the floor as Pidge moves back in and settles into her own bed. 

The room settles into a comfortable silence and Keith resigns himself to laying still and waiting for his mind to shut off. He soon finds himself drifting in that calming state between sleep and wakefulness, where he can feel his body on the sheets and his face on his pillow and the faint chill of air over his bare skin while his brain feels loose in his head and he can tell that he’s about to fall asleep. There’s a tug at his ankles, a brief period of readjustment by someone else’s hand where he body is shifted slightly but not enough to make him bother with opening his eyes. He feels the rush of air then the sensation of soothing cloth on his body as his sheets are pulled over him and tucked around his shoulders. Keith allows himself the smallest of smiles at the comfortable position before he finally becomes unaware and falls asleep.

Breakfast the next day is a similar affair except this time Hunk makes a triangular version of waffles and Keith starts out with cutting fruit to avoid his failure from the day before. When Lance emerges from their room, bright-eyed and grinning at everyone, Keith thinks he catches a glimmer of teasing disappointment in his eyes when he sees Keith’s mess from the previous day cleaned. Keith does his best to not act smug, but it’s extremely difficult not to engage in a battle of wits with Lance, even this early in the morning. 

After they finish eating, the team starts to split up and go off to their own devices. Pidge wants to go get a more in depth look at the mineral deposits and she ropes Shiro and Coran into coming with her to help with the equipment. Allura leaves to trail Dulcis for the day and see what her duties entail. She claims she’s just curious, but Keith hopes it’s not because she thinks her own leadership skills are lacking. He knows everyone else would similarly disagree. Lance and Hunk enthusiastically change into their swimwear and practically dive into the water right out of the house, their laughter echoing across the water as they splash and swim. With nothing better for him to do, Keith changes into his own swim trunks and a t-shirt, grabs the romance novel Lance made him bring, and lays a towel out in the sand far away from the water so he can read peacefully in the sun. 

Keith lets himself get invested in the novel until he’s barely aware of his surroundings. Distantly, he hears Lance and Hunk chatting calmly, their conversation occasionally interrupted by the splashing water and their own joyous screams. Keith zones out well enough so every piercing cry on their part doesn’t even register as something concerning in his mind. 

The novel is fairly interesting, as interesting as something can be when it’s a roughly translated alien novel that relies on concepts and tropes from a planet that hasn’t existed for 10,000 years. The characters are strange and the romance seems forced even from the beginning so Keith prays that the mystery aspect of the novel changes things or he’s going to lose his mind. 

About an hour passes and Keith is nearing the midpoint of the book, on the edge of his proverbial seat when the former boring lover is revealed to be involved with the murder and a shadow passes over him, darkening his view of the pages and prompting him to glare up at the perpetrator. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust but then he recognizes Lance’s silhouette smiling down at him. He’s fresh out of the water so Keith draws his book back to try and protect it from Lance’s dripping skin and trunks. 

Keith frowns at him in suspicion. “What do you want?”

“What?” Lance puts a hand against his chest in mock horror. “How could you think that I of all people would try and sabotage your reading experience?” 

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Keith counters.

“Fair point.”

“Why are you bothering me?” Keith reiterates.

Lance frowns, but his expression shows he’s willing to let Keith’s tone go. “First of all, rude. And Hunk and I are going inside for a quick drink and some food, we don’t want to get dehydrated from swimming.”

Keith raises an eyebrow and dog-ears his page so he can close his book. “Aren’t you smart.”

To his surprise, Lance actually blushes and looks away as he shakes his head then turns back to Keith with the same cocky smile like nothing out of the ordinary happened. “I know! So, do you want to come with us or what? We’ve been out here for a while.”

Keith chews his lip while he considers. Eventually, he sighs and rises, dusting the sand off his legs and bringing his book with him. “Sure, why not.”

If at all possible, Lance’s smile gets brighter as the walk back inside. Keith had barely noticed how warm it was outside, but now the hot temperature is obvious since he’s inside the cool beach house. He briefly wonders if the Salutemites have something resembling air conditioning. 

Hunk smiles from the kitchen and lays out three glasses of water and three sandwiches as he takes a seat next to him and Lance. Though he doesn’t ask them about their watery adventures, the duo gladly recounts their period of swimming with great enthusiasm. Lance gestures broadly and nearly smacks Keith’s sandwich out of his hand multiple times. Hunk nods along, encouraging Lance’s story and adding his own exclamations and details whenever he sees fit. 

“You should swim with us!” Hunk adds once Lance finishes his story about their underwater breathing contest (they had been evenly matched, but Lance still won by a few seconds). 

Keith wrinkles his nose and picks at the crust of his sandwich. “I’m not really in the mood.”

“Oh, come on!” Lance nudges his shoulder and Keith thanks everything holy that his skin has finally dried off. “I get that you’re fine with sand, you being a desert-dweller and such, but water? Can you swim?”

Keith’s glad that Lance doesn’t patronize him with the last question, even if his assumption is wrong. “No, I can swim just fine, I just don’t really trust open water.”

“That’s okay,” Lance reassures him and Hunk echoes his sentiment. “We’d be with you the entire time! And I promise I won’t make you go out far if you don’t want to!”

Keith glares at Lance, searching his face for any sign of betrayal but all he can find is genuine reassurance that makes his stomach churn with something unrecognizable. He looks at Hunk’s face and sees a similar expression, even if it feels different than Lance’s. Even if Hunk is just as comforting and kind as Lance is being at the moment, he can’t match the way Lance has a calm hand resting gently on Keith’s shoulder and his body is turned so his knee lightly brushes against the side of Keith’s thigh. 

“Fine,” Keith eventually resigns as he fails to ignore how Lance and Hunk exchange delighted looks. He points a firm finger at Lance’s face and prays his eyes match his seriousness. “But if you trick me, you’ll regret it.”

Lance raises his hands in defense and Keith silently mourns the loss of Lance’s warm palm on top of his shoulder. “I promise!” The situation now handled, Hunk gathers their dishes and set them aside to clean later and they all march back outside. Keith starts to take his shirt off, but Lance grips his wrist. “You can wait a little if you want, we still have to wait thirty minutes until we can swim.” He says the last bit with a proud posture like he’s had to recite that before.

“Okay,” Keith puts his arms down. “Then what are we going to do until then?”

Hunk jumps up and down in excitement. “I have an idea!” He grins at Lance and they share a moment of silent agreement that Keith doesn’t even have time to dwell on before they both look back at him. “Sandcastles!”

They jump around each other in circles while Keith awkwardly brushes his hair out of his eyes. “I’ve never made a sandcastle before.”

The jumping stops and Keith is once again the object of their amazed scrutiny. “That’s okay!” Hunk says, shaking out of his stupor first. He nudges Lance’s shoulder until the other boy claps his hands together and smiles.

“Don’t worry about it! You’re never too old to learn how to build a sandcastle!” 

Keith lets the two of them drag him down into the damp sand just before the edge of the water. They kneel in a wide circle with Lance on his right and Hunk on his left. Keith’s knees sink into the wet sand and leave gritty patterns on every patch of skin that touches the beach. Hunk and Lance both look completely comfortable with the sticky sand like they’re as comfortable here as they would be at home. Keith has never been to a beach before, but he did spend so long in the desert that sand is not unfamiliar to him. But that sand was loose and hot, this sand is uncomfortable and clings to his skin. He wonders if the beach sand Earth is like this, if he might as well be building a sandcastle on his home planet.

Lance and Hunk start pulling mounds of sand from around them to form a pile in the middle, gesturing for Keith to follow their example. “It would be better if we had a bucket and shovel,” Lance starts to explain. “But we can make do with just our hands. If we really need to, we can a bowl from the kitchen or something.”

“We should start with a main structure and then we could extend it out to make multiple towers,” Keith can practically see Hunk formulating the designs in his head like some elaborate blueprint no one else can see as he counts off various details on his fingers. “If we want we can carve out some windows, maybe add some decorations with shells and kelp. Or we could even-”

“Could we make the castleship?” Keith suggests, his voice quieter than he’s used to. He’s out of his element, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to contribute. Lance and Hunk blink at him with wide eyes, leaving Keith to awkwardly fidget with his hands and avoid eye contact. “I mean, we have a clear idea of what it looks like so it would be pretty straightforward. Is that even a thing you do with sandcastles? I don’t want to if it’s-” 

“No, no!” Lance cuts him off, waving his messy hands so violently that clumps of sand fly off in every direction. “You’re fine! That’s actually a really good idea!” He looks at Hunk and Keith feels guilty for usurping Hunk’s plan, the look on Lance’s face showing that he shares the same sentiment. 

Hunk looks between them with an awestruck look until he realizes what they’re thinking and he mimics Lance’s frantic waving. “No, that idea’s great too! Don’t worry about me, I know that ship a lot better so it will be much easier to get the design down. And we can still add some little touches like the shells and kelp and we could put cute little designs and-” He cuts himself off and if at all possible his eyes widen to take up half of his face. “We could make mini sand mice.”

Lance coos and clasps his hands together in front of his chest. “Oh my god that would be so cute.” 

They turn to Keith expectantly and he shrugs. “That would be pretty adorable.”

Together they pile up enough sand to form the body of their castle. Hunk starts guiding their every move, having Lance and Keith take opposite sides to start smoothing out the sand. Hunk dictates their actions with an air of professionalism unnecessary for the construction of a sandcastle. Keith’s hand accidentally brushes against Lance’s at one point and Keith prays that his blush passes as sunburn. 

Once they have the general shape, which means one tall lump in the center with four surrounding lumps, Hunk sits down to smooth it over and sends Keith and Lance out to look for decorations along the shore. The two paladins wade through the shallows, the water barely coming up past their ankles as they crane their necks down and look for some shells. Keith’s neck already aches from the awkward position and the surface of the water is extremely bright because of the sun’s high placement in the sky. But still, he finds this a lot more exciting than reading a book alone. He still wouldn’t mind sitting down in a nice comfortable spot to finish his book, but he’s also glad that Lance pulled him away because he enjoys his company, and Hunk’s too for that matter. Even if having consistent friends is a new thing for him and he still feels different levels of strange when it comes to his relationships with Lance and Hunk and even the other paladins, but Keith’s proud of himself for how much he’s progressed.

“So you’ve really never built a sandcastle before?” Lance asks. His voice is casual as he bends down to pick up an orange shell, but Keith can see a line of tension in his broad shoulders. He appreciates Lance’s attempt at communication, even though he knows they both feel the weird thickness in the air between them that neither can explain. 

“Why would I lie about that?” Keith shoots back.

Lance motions his hands up and down in a calming gesture. “Hey, chill man. I’m just trying to make conversation.”

There’s a silent, tense pause with only the soft, rolling waves acting as an interruption. Keith picks up a glimmering white shell and sighs. “I think I went to the beach at a lake once when I was younger.” Keith takes Lance silence as an invitation to continue his story. “I can’t really remember, it’s all fuzzy, but I think that I really didn’t like the way the wet sand felt so I threw a fit and we had to leave early so I never got to do anything like that.” Keith hears a wheeze next to him and he finds Lance bent over at the middle, face nearly touching the water as he laughs so hard that tears are starting to noticeably in the corners of his eyes. Keith watches in awe as Lance’s tan stomach twitches with every laugh and his smooth back curves gracefully and Keith stop admiring how incredible he looks when he’s so happy until Keith remembers that he’s laughing at Keith and he frowns.

“You’re so mean!” He proclaims. He’s tempted to push Lance down in the water when the Blue Paladin’s laughter just escalates. “It wasn’t even that exciting of a story!”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry!” Lance manages to squeeze out between great gasps of air. He stands up fully and wipes his eyes. “It’s just, you literally lived in the desert and I’m imagining little Keith getting mad because he got a little sand on him!” He devolves into laughter once more and Keith crosses his arms. 

“That’s not even funny!” Keith’s honestly trying to stay frustrated but stupid Lance and his stupid laughing and his stupid face keeps getting in the way. 

Lance lets out a long and final sigh and puts his hands on each of Keith’s shoulders. “You’re precious.” He gently pats his cheek then continues to look for decorations like nothing happened. Keith tries to get rid of the tingling sensation on his shoulders and cheek but it still remains when they return to Hunk with a moderate pile of shells and a few strings of a bright yellow kelp.

Hunk has made immense progress since they’ve been gone. The lumps of sand now look like a colorless but impressive replica of the castleship. He applauds them as they put down their various shells on the sand next to him. “Great! Once we put all of this on, it’ll be perfect!”

The three of them sit back down and start to put the finishing touches on their creation. They place shells on top of each tower and elegantly place them along the sides. Lines of kelp conncet each spire like streamers and they make a short path leading from the entrance with the remaining shells. Off to the side, they all collaborate on making miniature versions of the mice out of sand and if Keith does say so himself, they look pretty decent. 

“If the tide comes in,” Lance announces with his hands on his hips as they admire their work. “I’m actually going to cry.”

After patting each other on the back and swearing to show the others upon their return, they finally wade out into the water and Keith finds that his fears have somehow faded away. 

Later that night, Pidge and Shiro take on dinner duty to give Hunk a break with Coran acting as supervisor, even though that position does nothing to alleviate Keith’s own worry. 

Allura had been the first to return from her day out, sporting a new floppy hat that matched her dress. When shown the sandcastleship and the matching mice, she had been absolutely thrilled and congratulated them individually on a job well done. Pidge, Shiro, and Coran had waltzed in much later, Pidge triumphant and enthusiastic about all of the new information she learned while Shiro and Coran just seemed proud to have helped. They too applauded Lance, Keith, and Hunk when shown their creation and Pidge and Hunk had compared Hunk’s interpretation of the castleship to the real thing as best they could without the blueprints in front of them. 

Thankfully, dinner turns out to be edible and they disperse amongst the couches once more to eat. Once everyone is almost finished and Keith is about to rise to put his dish away, Allura calls for their attention. 

“I know our time here has been quite enjoyable,” She starts to say. “But we still have a duty to perform, for the sake of the universe. Because of this, we will be departing Salutem tomorrow. I hope we can find some more spare time eventually to do something like this again.”

Keith can feel how the mood of the room becomes somber, but accepting. He, too, feels like protesting at first but he knows it would be fruitless and petty, just as they all realize. They’ve already spent so much time here that any more would excessive. They have a job to complete, and he’s amazed that they even took the time for a vacation such as this. No speaks up at the princess’s words and they finish their dinners in a contemplative silence.

The mood lightens after dinner. Shiro does the dishes while Pidge and Hunk sit together on the couch and discuss Pidge’s findings while Coran and Allura occasionally ask questions or add their opinions. Keith is ready to relax on a couch with them when he notices the poignant absence of their blue paladin. He glances his eyes over the room and finally sees the head of smooth brown hair on the deck outside of living room none of them had ever explored. Keith quietly slips unnoticed out of the house and walks lightly across the deck to where Lance is sitting.

He has his legs dangled off the side of the deck, completely at peace with his eyes closed as he basks in the warmth of the slowly dropping sun. Keith takes a seat beside him, opting for his legs crossed on the deck instead of off the side. Lance peels one eye open but deems Keith unimportant enough for him to close it again. They sit in silence, and Keith feels completely calm with Lance at his side while he looks out at the gentle waves bathed in orange sunlight. 

“Did anything about this planet weird you out?” Lance asks him, his eyes now open and mouth frowning out at the ocean.

Keith bites his lip. “What do you mean?” 

Lance sighs and shifts his hands. Keith can see his façade of comfort fading away as he continues to speak. “I mean, this place looks a lot like Earth, but it’s nothing like it.” He raises a hand and gestures from the water to the shore. “The ocean’s like home, but the color’s off. The beach is similar, but where I come from the sand is this bright white and here it’s not. And the trees are all wrong. It’s just-” He stops himself and let’s a dejected sigh that makes Keith’s heart ache. “It’s like the universe is taunting me with some place kind of resembling Earth and then just ripping it away from me again.” Lance sighs again and his head drops to his chest.

Keith chews at the inside of his lip and watches Lance’s distress. He’s never been good at comforting people, but he can’t just leave him like this. Lance is his friend and that means Keith can’t back out when it gets tough. Keith gulps down air and puts a gentle hand on Lance’s shoulder, causing the other to lift his head and turn his piercing gaze to match Keith’s own eyes. “This planet isn’t Earth; it’s just another stop on our mission. You can’t forget that.”

Lance seems to deflate even more. “I know, I just-”

“But look at how amazing it is.” Keith continues, prompting Lance to look around them. “This used to be infested by Galra and it was killing everything. But then we helped them become free again, and now look! They’re taking care of themselves and governing themselves and they are thriving! And that’s because we helped them, because we sacrificed our lives on Earth to insure the safety of others. And we’re also insuring Earth’s safety, even if it hurts to be away from home you have to know that you’re doing what’s best for everyone you love because you’re making sure they survive. And when we’re finished?” Keith smiles at Lance and hopes it’s as reassuring as he intends it to be. “Then you can go home.” 

Lance gives him a shaky smile and leans back again. Keith knows that a few words won’t ease all of Lance’s worries, that a small speech might only act as a temporary band aid on the festering wound that is Lance’s concerns but for now, it’s enough to let Lance live in the moment and relax and Keith is proud of both of them for that. 

The sun dips lower along the horizon, splitting in that familiar but foreign way that Lance was talking about. And even if it does look a little different, the tension seeps out of Lance’s shoulders as he watches the sun vanish and the stars appear.

Even if it’s different, for now, it’s enough.

. . .

Keith is used to taking care of himself.

Even before he lived in a shack in the middle of nowhere, he had to fend for himself. He couldn’t trust others the help him, so he learned to do it himself. He learned to clean and cook and do his laundry and how to do any other menial task that popped up.

But even if he can take care of himself, he’s never learned how to pamper himself. He doesn’t have the time or patience to do elaborate skincare routines or style his hair. He’s always done the bare minimum and it’s been fine. 

But seeing Lance show up to breakfast fresh out of a face mask, skin glowing and looking completely content, for the first time Keith wishes he could do that too.

. . . 

“Considering we spent days vacationing on a planet,” Lance starts to rant as he burst into Keith’s room unannounced, interrupting Keith as he was trying to finish the romance novel. “It’s amazing I didn’t make a spa day for us all.”

Keith groans and lets the book fall on his face. “What do you want?”

“Did you not hear any of what I said?” Lance sounds scandalized, though Keith knows it’s not real. “We’re having a spa day and it’s required for you to come.” He’s rifling through Keith’s closet and it takes Keith a moment to realize that he should be mad about that invasion of privacy.

“What are you doing?”

Lance turns to him with disbelief and exasperation mixing awkwardly on his face. “Are you seriously gonna make me repeat-”

“No, I get that.” Keith sets on his bed and marks his page before putting it down. “Why are you in my closet?”

“You’ll see.” Lance assures him. There’s a lot more rummaging and sounds that Keith prays don’t mean property damage until Lance shouts and holds up a pair of red lion slippers. “Eureka!” He squints his eyes at the closet. “Man, you don’t have a lot of stuff. Do you at least have a bathrobe? Maybe Allura can help me find one if you don’t.”

“Can you stop messing with my stuff?” Keith sighs as Lance dives back in. He’s just glad that’s he’s kept the postcard he bought on Salutem in his pocket or he would die if Lance found that and teased him for it. 

“Chill out, there’s nothing here to mess with. You really brought minimalistic desert living to space, didn’t you?” He scrapes a couple of hangers to the side and shouts triumphantly. He pulls out loose red pajamas and a fluffy red bathrobe that matches the slippers. “Perfect. Okay, you change into these.” Lance commands him as he tosses the material on the bed and kicks the slippers closer. “I’ll be back in five minutes and if you aren’t ready, I’m still dragging you out.” He points one last threatening finger at Keith’s face and then he’s gone, leaving a silence as if a tornado hadn’t just blown through his room.

Keith sighs and rises, taking the postcard out and sliding it under his pillow before he starts to change. The material of the bathrobe and pajamas are silky against his skin, unlike any material he’s felt before. The slippers are similarly comfortable and Keith is suddenly bored when he remembers Lance won’t return for at least another three minutes. 

After leaving Salutem, the Princess had been working the Paladins hard and driving them to free planet after planet and battle fleet after fleet. Everyone was run ragged and exhausted from their constant missions, making each team member testy until the Princess had relented and given them a single day to recuperate before returning to missions and training. Keith had been planning on finishing his book and maybe sparring to pass his day, but Lance clearly has other plans. 

The door bursts open again and Lance walks in with a pleased expression dawning on his face. “Thank you! Alright, everyone else is ready so let’s not keep them waiting.”

“What are you doing?”

“Jeez, Keith, repetitive much?” Lance grabs him by the wrist and pulls him down the hallway. It’s only now that Keith notices that Lance has changed into a matching outfit, except his attire being the blue versions. “We have spare time, so I’m giving us a well-deserved spa day. Everyone agreed to participate so I’m glad you did too, or we’d all be very sad.”

Keith tries not to dwell on the last part of the sentence and instead continues to frown. “I feel like I’m being kidnapped. I have no choice.”

“If you really didn’t want to do this,” Lance says with a softness Keith rarely gets to hear. “You would say so, and I’d let you go. Simple as that, no questions asked. So,” He pauses and turns to face Keith, nearly causing the Red Paladin to slam into his counterpart. “Are you comfortable with this?”

Keith huffs out a sigh and looks anywhere but Lance’s face. “Yes.”

“Great!” Lance immediately perks up and drags him all the way to the common room while Keith does his best to hide how flustered he is. 

The doors hiss open and Keith is greeted with the sight of his teammates lounging about the room, all of them wearing matching outfits, including fluffy robes, corresponding to their lions and in Allura and Coran’s cases, sporting purple and white attire respectively. Strewn about the floor in front of the couch are various bottles and products that Keith can’t even begin to recognize. Lance’s warm hand on Keith’s forearm nudges Keith in the direction of the couch. He sits down slowly, still on edge but better now that he knows what Lance is planning. Allura, who sits on the couch with Coran across from him, gives him a small wave, her expression clearly puzzled and slightly amused due to Lance’s antics. Coran sports a similar look and next to him, Shiro appears to be at complete peace. Lance takes a seat next to Keith, so close that Keith can feel the texture of Lance’s own robe rubbing against his arm. Noticing that the rest of the group is gathered at the couch, Pidge and Hunk scoot across the floor from their seated positions to the edge so they can be a part of the conversation.

“Not that I’m not curious as to what we’re all doing here,” Allura announces with her head tilted to the side. “But Lance, you mentioned this is a spa day? What exactly does that entail? It’s not a training exercise, is it?”

“Not really!” Lance answers as he crosses one leg over the other and reclines. “It’s more like a team bonding exercise, if you want to think of it like that.”

“On Earth, when you’re stressed or need to relax,” Hunk elaborates. He’s lying on his stomach with his legs kicking back and forth and a pleasant smile on his face. “You have a day where you do nice skin treatments and you can bathe and you can just do a lot of stuff to help you wind down. You can either go to a professional spa or you can do it yourself, but either way it’s really nice.”

“It sounds intriguing!” Coran pipes up. “On Altea, we typically used the cryopods to soothe mental strains, but this method sounds much more engaging!”

“So how are we going to do this?” Shiro asks.

“I figured we can split up into small groups and help each other out and if we want we can switch at some point!” Lance sits up as he explains his system.

“Since you see quite adept at this Lance, would you mind explaining more and showing Coran and I how to do a spa day?” Allura asks, her eyes wide with an excitement that lights up her whole face. 

“Of course, Princess! It would be my honor!” He rises and bows dramatically before making his way over to her side of the couch, scooping a couple of bottles from the floor on his way over. 

Keith awkwardly sits in one spot, unsure what to do so he decides to wait and see what the others do. Shiro moves over to a spot closer to Hunk and they immediately start debating what they should start with. Pidge slides over the edge and smoothly occupies the seat Lance was in just a few moments ago. Keith turns to her helplessly. 

“I have no idea what to do.” Keith says miserably.

Pidge raises an eyebrow, but her expression is soft and sympathetic. “Honestly, I’m surprised he didn’t drag you over to the beginner’s corner with Allura and Coran.”

“Can you help me? Have you ever done something like this before?”

She shrugs. “Lance made me partake in a self-care day a few weeks ago, so I kinda know what some of these things say.” She plucks up one of the bottles from the floor. “I think this is one of his face masks.” She bends over again and picks up a small dish with pink circles delicately arranged on it. She takes a careful sniff and frowns. “Cucumbers, maybe?”

“Space cucumbers?” Keith mumbles, making Pidge huff out a laugh as she sets it off to the side. 

“Yeah, something like that.” She agrees. From the pile, she picks out a couple of headbands and hair ties, wrinkling her nose as she tosses a pair to Keith. “You’re gonna want to tie your hair back. This stuff is messy and it’s a pain to clean out of your hair.”

Keith nods wordlessly and does as she says. He gathers as much hair as he can in a ponytail at the base of his neck, and he pushes back the fringe and bangs left behind with the headband. Pidge’s hair is too short for a ponytail so she just uses the headband and nods when she sees Keith is ready.

“Great, I’m gonna put it on your face first so you can get a feel for it and then you can do mine, sound good?” Keith nods, so she has him sit cross-legged on the couch and face her. She opens the bottle and squeezes some out into her hand. It’s green and shimmers slightly in the lighting but Keith tries not to let that bother him and instead makes a mental note of the amount that Pidge has in her palm.

Gently, she starts to spread it across his face, dipping a few fingers from her empty hand into her palm and smoothing them across his skin like a toddler perfecting the art of finger-painting. At first, the touch is strange and foreign and the paste feels like heavy mud but after a while he gets used to it. It’s relaxing to not have to worry about anything in the moment, even letting a fellow team member take care of the busy work. He feels the tension leave his shoulders and the mud like feeling of the mask doesn’t feel as bothersome and even the strange smell mixed between cherries freshly-cut grass isn’t annoying. 

As Pidge finishes, she wipes the excess paste off on her own cheeks and grins with satisfaction at her work. 

“I’ve made a masterpiece.” She proclaims, shuffling forward eagerly. “Now, it’s my turn!”

Keith recalls Pidge’s own actions and does his best to replicate them. He squeezes out the correct amount of paste into his palm and mimics the way in which Pidge had spread it along his cheeks. She has her eyes closed, completely trusting and maybe even a little excited to get her own spa treatment. Keith gulps down his nerves and tries to live up to her expectations as he starts to paint her face. He’s acutely aware of what’s going on in the rest of the room. Hunk and Shiro are alternating giving each other shoulder massages while sharing their home techniques for de-stressing. Lance is taking different items one at a time from the floor and explaining each of their purposes to Allura and Coran. They appear to be listening intently and hanging onto his every word.

He turns his focus back to Pidge’s face mask and finishes it without any hiccups. Like she did, he wipes his hands on the underside of his own chin so as to not disturb his own mask. 

“All done.” He says. Pidge opens her eyes and beams up at him so Keith shakily smiles back. “Now what do we do?”

“Awesome.” Pidge rubs her hands together and picks up the dish of space cucumbers she set aside earlier. “Now, we have to wait for them to dry. But if you want, to complete the experience, we can lay back and put these over our eyes.”

Keith raises an eyebrow and glares at the dish. “Why?”

She shrugs. “Honestly, I have no clue. But it might be fun!” She takes two for herself and rotates so her legs dangle from the couch and she can lean back against the cushions. She places the space cucumbers over her eyes and reclines with a long sigh, putting her hands under her neck for support. She leaves the dish off to her side where Keith can reach it if he wants, an invitation but not a necessity. Keith cautiously grabs a couple and follows Pidge’s lead, leaning back as he places them over his eyelids. They’re cold but they aren’t slick, and they actually feel nice on his face.

The two of the fall into comfortable silence with only occasional breaks when Pidge tells him about some of her projects or some of the conversation from other parts of the room flow into their area. After a while, Keith starts feeling antsy, so he takes one space cucumber off and gazes down. 

“Pidge?” He asks, waiting for her to hum in acknowledgment before continuing. “Do you think Lance would hate me if I ate one of these?”

Pidge snorts out a few laughs but shakes her head. “Nah, I mean, it’s his fault for giving us edible ones if he didn’t think one of us would end up eating some.” She too takes off one so she can watch Keith. 

Before he can second-guess himself, he takes a bite out of the space cucumber and notes the crunch. He chews for a few seconds before Pidge eagerly asks for his verdict. “So?”

“Kinda sour,” He notes with a wrinkled nose. “With a lemony aftertaste, I think?” 

Pidge seems to consider that for a second before she too takes a bite and immediately wrinkles her nose, too. “Uck, that’s too much.” They share similar disturbed looks for a second before simultaneously bursting into laughter. Keith feels glad to share such a moment with Pidge, even if it is a little ridiculous. 

“Guys!” They here from across the couch. Lance is glaring at them with his hands on his hips and his lips pulled into a pout. “Those aren’t for eating! We only have so many!”

“Sorry,” Keith mumbles even though he really isn’t and from the look on Pidge’s face, she isn’t either. 

They return to their comfortable silence once more and Keith relishes in the peace. He fades into his surroundings, feeling the gentle way the couch presses into his back and listening to the periodic murmuring of the others in the background. He’s not sure when the last time was he felt so comfortable around others, so comfortable that he could fall asleep if he wanted to. Instead, he lets himself zone out, drifting in that calm state between sleep and wakefulness. 

There’s a light nudge on his elbow so he removes the remaining space cucumber and looks to his side where he finds Pidge grinning at him. With the green mask on her face, she looks even more terrifying than usual. “Hey, we can probably take these off now.” Keith nods and sits up, trying to blink away the grogginess while Pidge rises and disappears from the room.

When she returns, she comes bearing two smalls towels and hands one to Keith. It’s warm and damp and he waits for confirmation from Pidge’s actions before he too starts to rub the heavy face mask off. 

Pidge snorts, making him abruptly stop. “You don’t have to be so violent, you know! Try wiping it off in nice little circles, it won’t irritate your skin that way.” 

Keith frowns but he follows her instructions and adjusts his methods. He’s sure he looks ridiculous, gently wiping at his face with half of it still covered in hardened green goop, but if Pidge looks similarly to how he looks, then he can’t help the short huff of a laugh that forces its way out of his mouth. She smirks at him too, leaving him glad that she didn’t think he was making fun of her. 

As he continues to rub off the mask, he takes a moment to observe the rest of the team. Hunk and Shiro have finished what they were doing and are now sitting cross-legged on the floor and exchanging animated stories from their times at the Garrison. The mice have appeared, all of them sitting on Hunk’s knee and squeaking in satisfaction as Hunk takes turns rubbing each one’s head. Allura’s hair is now in some kind of elaborate braid that Keith has never seen before and both sides of Coran’s moustache are braided normally. They’re all now using small blunt tools about the size of a toothpick to push back their cuticles as they all take turn telling stories about their home planets. All of them share similar expressions, all mixtures of sorrow and happiness and nostalgia and Keith can’t help but be happy that Lance has people to talk to about his home, even if it isn’t Keith. Lance’s gaze briefly flits away from his conversation and in Keith’s direction. Keith quickly focuses his intention on the couch in front of him, pretending that the red on his cheeks is from wiping too hard and praying that Lance doesn’t notice.

“Voila!” Pidge proclaims, throwing her arms in the air and tossing her cloth off to the side. “And we’re done! You can feel your face and your skin should be so much smoother.”

Keith does as she says and raises his fingers to his chin and surprisingly, he finds she’s right. His skin is much softer and Keith almost doesn’t want to pull his hand away. Ever. 

“Now what?” Keith asks.

Pidge shrugs. “I dunno, I guess we wait until the others are ready to switch or something.”

Across the room, a loud clap startles Keith so badly that he jerks his hand away from his face and almost falls off the sofa. 

“Alright everyone! Now go sit with someone you weren’t with before!” Lance smiles widely at them all, his eyes definitely not lingering on Keith’s so Keith goes to sit by Hunk and definitely doesn’t notice how Lance’s shoulders slump and hear his sigh from across the room.

Hunk gives him a welcoming smile as Keith sits down in front of him. “Hi, Keith! How was your face mask?”

Keith shrugs. “Fine. What are you doing?”

Hunk rubs his hands together, joining his fingers and stretching his palms out until his joints popped. “We’re gonna give each other back rubs! I figured that’d be a good way to destress, especially given how crazy it’s been recently. Do you want me to give you one first or the other way around?”

“I don’t really know how to give a massage…”

“That’s fine!” Hunk assures him. “I’ll show you how!”

Hunk has him lie down on his stomach with his arms folded under his chin for support. When Hunk first puts his hands on Keith’s shoulders, Keith tenses at the uncommon touch and flushes in embarrassment he can’t quite place. But Hunk doesn’t make fun of him or anything, he just waits patiently without moving as Keith adjusts and he only continues once Keith gives him a nod. It’s difficult at first to get used to anyone initiating physical contact with him, even if it’s a teammate he trusts, but Hunk is nice and accommodating the entire time. He tells Keith stories about his own family members relieving stress by having massage circles, not minding when Keith merely responds with occasional hums. After a while, Keith lets himself doze, his mind pleasantly warm while Hunk works the knots out of his back. 

“Hey,” Hunk taps him on the back of his head, startling Keith out of his comfortable state to the point that he sits up suddenly and whips his head around. “Woah, easy there! It’s just time to go somewhere else.”

“Wait,” Keith says, slightly disoriented as he tilts his head at Hunk. “But what about your massage?” 

Hunk waves a dismissive hand that makes Keith frown. “Don’t worry about it, you needed it much more than I did!”

Keith’s grateful, but that doesn’t stop him from glaring at Hunk until the yellow paladin promises he’ll be the first person on the receiving end of a massage in this next rotation. Satisfied and his muscles looser than before, Keith makes his way over to Lance and sits down cross-legged in front of him. Shiro is already sitting in a similar position on his left.

“Welcome,” Lance greets, eyes sparkling and hands spread out. “I’m so happy you could join me here today.”

Shiro looks part amused and part impressed. “This was a great idea, Lance.”

Lance rubs the back of his neck and blushes at the praise. “Aw, it’s really nothing. I’m just glad everyone thought it was worth their time.”

“Of course it is,” Keith points out. He keeps eye contact with Lance, holding his crystal blue gaze to make sure he gets his message. “This is the best way I could’ve spent my day, I’m sure the others agree.”

Lance holds the eye contact for a few seconds after Keith finishes speaking and his heart feels strange at the way Lance keeps staring, like it’s trying to skip a few beats. Keith can’t tell if it feels like a warning or something positive. Before he can decide, Lance rips his eyes away, leaving Keith to stare at the side of his face. 

“Alright!” Lance claps his hands together. “We’re gonna do each other’s hair! I’m not sure how you wanna do this, maybe we could do a braid chain or do we want to take turns or we can do our own hair?”

“Um,” Keith awkwardly rubs the back of his neck, noticing that his hair is still pulled up in a ponytail and retrained with a headband, leaving only stray pieces for his fingers to brush against. “I don’t know how to do anyone’s hair?”

Lance wipes a fake tear away from his eye. “Of course, his poor mullet must prevent him from any sort of fashion! How tragic!” Keith glares at him and crosses his arms but Lance only answers with a teasing grin. “Nah, that’s okay! We’ll figure out a system so you can get your hair done and learn. How about-”

“Lance, I can figure out something for myself if you want to help Keith out.” Shiro interjects before Lance can finish his thought. Shiro gives Keith a warm smile that both irritates and encourages him.

The blue paladin shrugs. “That’s fine by me.” He turns his inquisitive gaze to Keith who nods his assent at the plan.

Shiro offers one last grin as he scoots off to the side. Lance motions for Keith to move closer to him and positions him on the floor in front of him, leaving Keith’s back turned to Lance. Both of them have their legs crossed in front of them and Keith can feel the faintest touch of Lance’s foot against the side of his thigh. 

“Alright!” Lance exclaims. “I’m gonna try to give you a French braid, so we’ll see how this goes.”

Keith is extremely proud of himself when he doesn’t flinch at Lance’s first contact with his hair. At first, he is still incredibly tense, but he gets used to the smooth swipes of Lance slender fingers through his hair. Slowly, he begins to relax and his shoulders smooth out. Lance slips the hairband and hair tie out of Keith’s hair and shakes out his dark locks, moving his fingers methodically to sort out all of the knots. 

Lance whistles and Keith raises an eyebrow even though Lance can’t see it. “Dang, for a mullet you have pretty nice hair! I have no clue how you keep it so soft, but whatever you do works!” 

Keith figures that this isn’t the best time to tell Lance that he doesn’t do anything special to it. He also isn’t sure if he should reassure Lance that his hair is probably just as soft. Keith feels his face blush at the thought, grateful that Lance can’t see his expression but certainly not happy that Shiro sees his face turn red and wiggles his eyebrows in his direction.

Settling in a gentle pattern of what Keith assumes is braiding, Keith lets his head tilt back and his eyes close. Lance is very careful and deliberate with his every move, pulling strand after strand over and under each other so delicately that Keith could probably fall asleep. Keith doesn’t know if he’s ever felt Lance’s touch so gentle but he never wants it to end. Even if they’re just sitting on the floor, surrounded by friends and taking a relaxing day and it’s not really anything special but to Keith it is. The company of people he truly trusts at utter peace and getting his hair braided by the most infuriating yet incredible person he’s known and to him this is ideal.

“Alright!” Lance swats playfully at the little ponytail at the base of Keith’s neck that gathers the end of braid. “Turn around! I have to make sure I did it okay.”

“I’m sure you did fine.” Keith grumbles, but he complies and swivels around. At first, Lance blinks like an owl at the top of his head and Keith feels his curiosity turn to dread when Lance just keeps staring, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. He swallows and Keith tries not to let his own eyes track his Adam’s apple. After the silence feels too long and heavy in his chest, Keith nervously begins to rub his hands together. “What?”

That seems to shake Lance out of whatever trance he was in. He smiles and blinks like nothing happened, but Keith can see light pink dusting his cheeks. “Yeah!” His voice practically squeaks and he coughs to regain his composure. “I did great as usual! It looks really nice.”

Keith runs his fingers over the top of his head and down his neck, humming when he feels the tightly woven ridges. “You really think so?” 

Lance swallows again and offers a shaky smile. “Yeah, definitely.”

“Thank you.” Keith smiles brightly at Lance and relishes in the beaming grin that returns his own.

“Nice work, Lance.” Shiro compliments from his spot a few feet away. His white bangs are braided neatly, flopping in his face with every movement of his head.

As Lance accepts Shiro’s praise, Keith observes Lance’s own hair. It looks as soft, if not softer than Keith’s but it’s definitely too short for Keith to do anything with considering his limited knowledge of hairstyles. “What about you?” He interrupts.

“Hm?” Lance furrows his brow then subconsciously moves to feel his hair when Keith gestures to it. “Oh, I’m fine, there’s not really much anyone can do.”

Not wanting him to be left out, Keith picks up the abandoned headband from the floor and gets up on his knees. Ignoring Lance’s confused spluttering, Keith stretches it over his head and situates it so the headband pushes gently against his hairline. At this point, Lance’s entire face is a bright red but he manages to stutter out some form of thanks.

“There.” Keith nods in satisfaction, doing everything in his power to keep his own embarrassment at bay and ignore Shiro’s smug expression. 

The team regroups on the couches, slouching around in various positions. Keith happily relishes in the peace of the moment, sinking back into to the cushions with his eyes closed. He feels warm and comforted being in the company of his teammates and while he usually feels restless and on-edge when focusing on anything unrelated to their mission or training, it’s nice to not have to worry about anything. He can hear Allura and Coran excitedly reflecting on their exposure to an Earth-like spa, Hunk providing his own input and anecdotes with the occasional help of Shiro and Pidge. Keith can feel that he’s slightly off to the side of the group but it doesn’t bother him. He doesn’t feel like he’s being intentionally excluded, just like he’s physically offset. 

There’s a dip in weight to his left but it doesn’t bug him so he doesn’t bother opening his eyes. 

“How are you doing, buddy?” Lance’s voice is smooth and warm which just adds to Keith’s good mood. Too satisfied with his current configuration to do anything, Keith merely hums his response, prompting a good-hearted chuckle from Lance as Keith feels the blue paladin lean back. “Yeah, this is pretty nice.”

“This was a good idea.” Keith mumbles, still not opening his eyes.

He hears a strange puff of air, something between a gasp and wheeze. “It’s nothing, really.”

“No,” Keith disagrees. There’s the slightest shift of fabric by his hand, probably Lance’s robe grazing him as he shifts in his seat. “It’s something. We needed this, I needed this. It’s nice to get a break once in a while.”

Lance is silent, so Keith waits a few seconds but almost a minute passes and there’s still no response. Keith resigns himself from leaving his warm floaty state to open his eyes and see what’s going on. He shifts his head to the left and slowly peels his eyelids apart.

Lance is staring at him, a soft unreadable look on his face. His mouth has the slightest smile, and his muscles all appear loose and relaxed. His eyes are warm and vulnerable, and Keith is afraid that he’s caught Lance in some sort of state he didn’t want him to see. It takes a few moments for Lance to realize that Keith is looking back at him and once he does he blinks slowly once, then twice and then the vulnerable gaze is gone like it never existed, Lance suddenly sitting up straight and pulling his hands sharply into his lap. 

“Yup!” Lance finally agrees, eyes wide and staring straight ahead, a light flush on his cheeks and his voice louder than necessary. “I definitely agree with you, mullet! You make a great point!”

Keith tilts his head to the side in confusion at Lance’s odd behavior. Said blue paladin chances a look at him, yelps and stands up with a ramrod straight posture. “I should probably clean all this stuff up before it gets misplaced.”

“Do you want any help?” Keith offers as he starts to move out of his reclined position.

“Nope!” Lance practically shouts. “I’ll be good, but thanks!” Noticeably flustered, Lance speeds around the room frantically, gathering the various elements of their spa day and haphazardly piling it in his arms. The rest of the team looks just as dazed as Lance goes through his frenzy until he bids them all a rushed farewell and runs out of the room, the doors swishing shut calmly like nothing happened. With no other culprit to blame, they all gradually turn to look at Keith, the last witness of Lance’s strange behavior.

“Is something wrong?” He asks no one in particular. Shiro snorts. 

. . . 

Keith trusts his team more than he’s ever trusted anyone else. 

He knows them, maybe not all that well, but enough to call them friends, maybe even family. He knows that they trust him to have their backs and in return, he trusts them to have his.

But he’s not used to having a group of people so kind and close to him. And because of that, every little act of kindness on their parts surprises him.

. . . 

Thankfully, Lance’s odd behavior is gone by the time Keith sees him again the next day. He seems to be back to his normal self when Keith encounters him in the dining room, making jokes and getting his meal like nothing happened. Keith doesn’t want to bring up his strange mannerisms for fear of causing a relapse, so he is forced to brood his concern in silence. Still, even if he can’t directly confront him, Keith makes sure to keep a close eye on him from a distance.

Two days after the spa day Keith’s hair has long since been taken out of its braid, though Keith mourned the thought of ruining Lance’s hard work, and the team finds a mission to partake in. Nothing extremely complicated, just a rescue mission for children taken hostage from a recently freed planet, but it’s enough to have everyone on edge again. Keith already feels the calming effects of the spa day vanishing with the tension of the situation.

They split into groups. Shiro and Lance charged with guiding the hostages back to the ship while Keith, Hunk, and Pidge went to keep the sentries distracted and cause as many diversions as possible. Allura and Coran stayed behind to aid them from afar and provide support to the worried residents of the planet. Keith would prefer that Lance were paired with him so he could keep an eye on the blue paladin, especially since his strange recent behavior, but he knows better than to challenge Allura’s authority.

“We’re approaching the cells,” Shiro’s voice informs the team over the comms. “Lance and I will need something to draw away the guards soon.”

“Copy that,” Allura’s smooth voice replies. “Hold your position for now and stay out of sight. Pidge, can you get into the security system?”

“Soon.” Pidge huffs out. She’s currently leading her group’s charge through the halls, a holographic screen pulled up on her gauntlet. Keith and Hunk follow closely behind her, running ahead occasionally to make sure the way is clear. “I have access to the ship’s blueprints right now, but I can’t do anything significant until I can access some kind of control panel.”

“We haven’t encountered much resistance so far,” Hunk adds. As he speaks, a lone sentry wanders in from a crossing hallway. Keith leaps forward and takes a swipe at it, knocking it off balance and giving Keith time to back out of the way so Hunk can shoot it. “So, the defenses must be fairly dispersed right now. We need to wait until Pidge does her thing and lures them all to us before Lance and Shiro can even try a rescue attempt.”

“Are we even close to a control panel?” Keith grits out. Pidge slows down and takes a sudden right.

“Yes!” Pidge exclaims. She brings them a halt in front of an open door and sprints inside, immediately rushing to a large screen and going to work. “Watch the door, this should only take me a few ticks and then we’ll have plenty of company.”

Keith and Hunk position themselves side by side to block the door. Keith bites his lips as an attempt to get rid of some of his nervous energy. He catches Hunk staring at him and scowls. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Hunk smiles reassuringly but Keith doesn’t feel all that comforted. After a tense pause, Hunk sighs and starts to speak again. “Everything’s gonna be fine, don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried!” Keith snaps as he tightens his grip on his bayard. “What are you even talking about?”

“Hm?” Hunk plays innocent, but Keith knows he must be up to something. “Oh, you know, just the mission, life in general.”

“Sure.” Keith squints but now isn’t the time for him to press Hunk for answers.

“Alright!” Pidge cheers from within. “We should be getting company soon! Get ready!”

“Is there anyone near our location, Pidge?” Lance asks and Keith suddenly remembers that they still have yet to complete their end of the mission. 

“You guys are clear,” She confirms. “It looks like they’re all headed in our direction.”

“Be as quick as possible,” Allura reminds them all. “We want to leave no room for error with the children’s lives still in harm’s way.”

Lance’s calm affirmative answer is the only thing that slightly eases Keith’s nerves as the first of the sentries start pouring into the hallway. Pidge pushes her way between Keith and Hunk to stand at the ready as they all crouch into defensive stances.

Keith feels a gentle touch on his shoulder and whips his head around to sees Hunk’s smile again. “It’ll be okay.”

Keith figures that smiling back is the best option for the moment, even if he doesn’t understand why as he slashes through the torso of a sentry.

The three of them work well together, Keith notes, even if he isn’t very satisfied with the teams. Pidge and Hunk are smooth in the way they watch each other’s backs, Pidge extending her bayard and pulling sentries toward him and Hunk so they can finish them. Still, he misses the smooth and almost effortless way he and Lance would switch positions and work to complete their missions successfully. For as much as Lance liked to play up his efficiency in battle, Keith has to concede that there’s truth to Lance’s claims, and it’s a shame his skills weren’t put to use for this mission. Keith was always amazed with how Lance could easily take down enemy soldiers from a distance and still have time to let out some smart comment and smirk with pride. 

He hates that Lance mystifies him enough to distract him in battle when he has other teammates he needs to focus on.

“Keith!” He hears Hunk shout from a few feet to his side. Keith looks to see his distraction coming back to haunt him in the form of a sentry just out of his reach taking aim at his chest. He knows it’s going to hurt but there’s no way he’s going down without a fight so he reels back his sword arm and starts to run forward at his attacker, determined to at least do some damage in return. 

That’s when a huge force hits him from the side, knocking the breath out of his lungs with a huge wheeze as his world tilts and blurs into a mix of black and purple. He hits the ground hard and his ears ring as he stares at the spinning ceiling and wonders what happened. His chest is sore but only from whatever knocked him over, not the shot that was sure to hit him. Slowly, he’s able to lift his head from the floor and look around. The smoldering and hacked up bodies of the sentries are strewn everywhere with more still rushing in. Pidge rushes forward and disables the sentry that shot at him with a loud cry of anger that makes Keith’s head throb. He glances to his right, curious as to what hit him and his blood runs cold.

Hunk is sprawled out on his back, arms limp and mouth agape. There’s a horrifying scorch mark in the center of his chest, the armor cracked and caved slightly inward, but it thankfully doesn’t look like it broke entirely. For a moment, the eerie silence of Hunk’s still form makes Keith’s breath fall short and the background sounds of Pidge continuing the fight and his other teammates demanding answers over the comms fade into the ringing in his ears. He’s sore and dazed, but Keith manages to crawl over to Hunk’s body. His mouth feels dry and no matter how many times he swallows he doesn’t feel better.

“Hunk?” He rasps out, his voice quieter than he’d like. Hunk doesn’t respond in any way and Keith feels an all-consuming rage rising from his gut and grasping his heart, tears of anger stinging his eyes as he looks over at his injured friend. He’s ready to stand up and hurt every being before they have a chance to get near Hunk when the yellow paladin gasps suddenly and coughs. He rolls his head from side to side and finally his eyes open and Keith rage dissolves into worry and relief.

Hunk shifts his head to the side, a notable wince marring his features and Keith watches in amazement as Hunk gives him a shaky smile. “You okay?”

Stunned, Keith nods and the ringing in his ears finally starts to fade.

“Keith!” He hears clearly over his comms, a ragged cry from Lance that Keith is afraid to face. “Answer us! What happened? Are you okay?” 

Lance’s plea snaps Keith out of his daze entirely and their situation becomes horribly clear to him. Pidge is still holding her own against the incoming sentries, darting around the corridor to protect her fallen comrades, but it was only a matter of time before the number of sentries would be too much to handle and they would be overwhelmed. 

“Hunk’s hurt,” He manages to choke out. Keith moves into a crouching position and grabs Hunk gently by the shoulders. “I’ll get you out of here. Do you think you can stand up?”

Hunk bites his lip but nods and Keith carefully helps him into a sitting position, going as slowly as possible and pausing whenever Hunk’s breath catches and his eyes squeeze shut. Keith knows he must feel horrible, Keith knows that he feels horrible for getting distracted in battle and causing Hunk to get shot.

“What?” Lance asks. Keith winces at the horror in his voice. “Why are you guys still there? You need to get Hunk help!” 

“I’m working on it.” Keith grits out. Once Hunk is sitting, Keith gives him a few moments to recover before helping him stand. Hunk stumbles a little, but Keith slings his arm over his shoulder to keep him grounded. “Are you okay, Pidge?”

She’s still fending off the sentries, but at least their numbers seem to be thinning. “Decent. I can’t hold them off for much longer, but I might be able to give you enough time to get Hunk to safety.”

“No,” Hunk moans. “We can’t leave her behind.”

Keith sighs. “We might have to so we can get you help sooner.”

“Not that cold Keith,” Hunk mumbles. “You’re not that cold.”

“Lance and I have finished releasing the hostages.” Shiro informs them, sounding out of breath but alright. “We should be fine if you guys leave right now.”

“Got it.” Keith grips Hunk’s arm tightly, determined not to let him fall. “Pidge, let’s go!”

With a final swipe and kick, Pidge knocks down a few more sentries to buy them time. Once Keith is sure that Pidge is right behind them, Keith starts moving forward with Hunk half leaning on him. They can’t move too fast, and Keith wouldn’t even try it for fear of hurting Hunk more. Even in his current state, Hunk is doing his best to move his feet with Keith’s, a gesture he appreciates even if it makes the concern and guilt in his stomach grow.

“Everything’s gonna be fine, Hunk,” Keith tries to reassure him. He finds himself echoing the assurances Hunk had told him earlier, even if he didn’t know why he felt the need to do that. “It’ll be okay.”

Hunk smiles at that and Keith hopes he’s helping. 

Hunk has been in the healing pod for a day and a half when Keith releases himself from his self-exile and pays him a visit.

Upon arriving in the castle, Hunk had been rushed to the infirmary. Lance had taken Hunk’s free arm and helped carry him the rest of the way, cracking a few tearful jokes to make his friend laugh and not even trying to hide his tears when Hunk was finally in the cryopod. Shiro had given him a comforting pat on the shoulder before the rest of the team debriefed on the bridge. Keith recounted the events of the mission with his gaze directed at the ground and he took the silence after his tale as a bad sign.

Footsteps approach Keith, echoing much louder throughout the room than if everyone hadn’t been so still. The sudden weight of an arm on his shoulder makes him flinch, and he has to flinch again when he looks up to see Lance’s face. Keith expects anger, he expects hatred for putting his best friend in danger and practically leading him on the path to the cryopod. But none of that is apparent in Lance’s expression. Instead he just looks sad, maybe heartbroken and lost, but Keith can’t see any anger. 

At first, Lance just looks at him, hand still there. Then, he gives him a couple pats. “It’s okay,” He assures him, the familiar words making Keith flinch again. Lance opens his mouth like he wants to say more but he stops himself, pats Keith’s shoulder one last time and walks out of the room.

Though it isn’t the emotion he thought it would be, Keith figures it doesn’t mean good things anyways. He decides to give Lance his space for a while for fear of provoking a violent reaction and retreats to his room.

Until now. 

He doesn’t know what to expect he enters the infirmary. It’s been long enough that he doesn’t think that anyone would still be camped out in front of Hunk’s pod, but that also means it might have already been long enough that someone is waiting there for him to be released. But even if he doesn’t want to encounter anybody at the moment, he at least owes it to Hunk to check on him, if the Yellow Paladin is aware or not. 

The doors swish open quietly, the only sound save for Keith’s footsteps that echo throughout the room and down the hall like an ominous warning. When he looks inside, he can see Hunk in the pod, face incredibly peaceful and illuminated a light blue. At his feet sits Lance, and Keith feels guilt tear through his gut once more at the sight of him, hunched over and knees drawn up close to his chest to rest his chin on. Like this, he looks incredibly small and Keith’s heart breaks at the sight of him.

Lance looks up at the sound of the door opening and Keith freezes, giving Lance time to look him over. The Blue Paladin considers him for a few moments, his gaze piercing but neutral, not showing any signs of malice or kindness. Keith can’t breathe during that time, the air too heavy to fill his lungs. He only exhales once Lance looks away, once again facing the healing pod. He doesn’t yell at Keith so he takes that as a sign that he can cautiously approach.

“Can I sit?” Keith asks quietly.

Lance inclines his chin slightly and Keith takes the motion as an affirmative answer. He sits down, folding his legs in front of him. He focuses on a fraying thread from his pants and stares at that instead of looking at Hunk or Lance.

“I’m sorry.” Keith blurts out, unsure of anything else he could do. 

Lance lifts his head from his knees and frowns in confusion. “Why?”

Keith blinks. He can’t believe Lance would even think to ask that when it’s obvious what Keith means. “If I reacted faster, he wouldn’t be in there.”

“Yeah, but you would.” Lance scoffs. Keith doesn’t respond, knowing what he says is true. “But it’s not your fault. Hunk made a choice.”

“He’ll be okay.” Keith tells him, not sure what else he could say.

“I know.” Lance sighs. “It’s just hard.”

Keith feels trapped between wanting to comfort Lance and not knowing how. He settles for resting his hand lightly on Lance’s shoulder, gentle enough that Lance can easily swat it away if he needs to. But Lance doesn’t knock it away, he looks over with a small smile, probably the biggest one he can muster at the moment. It’s that expression that gives Keith an idea and he rises from floor suddenly, visibly startling Lance.

“I have to get something really quick. Will you still be here?” Keith asks him.

Lance raises an eyebrow in confusion and nods. Keith sprints off as soon as he has that reassurance, practically skidding around the corners of hallways to rush back into his room, He shoves his hand under his pillow, retrieving the postcard he purchased not so long ago on Salutem and running back to the infirmary with the card clutched tightly in his hands.

Lance’s eyebrows remain raised at him when Keith comes to a stop and sits on the floor next to him. He’s breathing heavily and he’s sure his face must be extremely flushed and he’s starting to realize just how stupid he must look but he’s made a decision and he’s determined to follow through with it, so he shoves out the postcard, quickly muttering, “This is for you.”

Lance blinks and looks down at the offering, still confused over Keith’s strange behavior. He reaches out and takes the card carefully. He holds it delicately, like it’s an injured bird and his voice is soft when he speaks. “What is this?”

Keith rubs the back of his neck nervously. “Well, back on that one watery planet-”

“Salutem.” Lance interrupts quietly.

Keith nods and continues. “Yeah, well there was a booth selling a bunch of these and you’ve told me that you miss sunsets before, so I thought you would like that.”

Lance stares at the postcard for a long time, holding it so gently that the paper doesn’t even crinkle when his thumb caresses the image. Keith can hear his heart beating loudly in his chest and his palms sweating as Lance continues to stare, his nerves growing as he still hasn’t said a word. Then, Lance clears his throat and looks up. His expression is so open and vulnerable and kind that Keith can’t breathe. “You got this for me?”

Keith rubs his hands nervously over his pants. “Yeah. It’s okay if you don’t want it, though, it’s kind of stupid.”

Lance appears horrified at his words and his hands shoot out quickly to grasp Keith’s shoulders tightly. “It’s not stupid, it’s perfect! I love it!” Lance pulls Keith into a hug, his arms wrapped tightly around his waist and his hair tickling Keith’s neck where it brushes against his skin. After a moment of processing, Keith returns the sentiment and carefully drapes his arms across the Blue Paladin’s back. Lance’s voice is slightly muffled when he speaks. “Thank you. Who knew you could be so nice?”

“Hey,” Keith frowns but he can tell Lance means no harm, so his response isn’t as heated as it might have been months ago. “I can be nice.”

A laugh rumbles against his neck with a puff of air and Lance pats his back a couple times before pulling away, his eyes on Keith’s. “I know, buddy, I know.”

Lance goes back to admiring his postcard, his mood considerably lightened. He holds it out in front of him and if Keith tries hard enough, he can forget everything else and pretend there’s an actual sunset right there with them. But Keith can still feel Hunk’s injury looming over the both of them.

“You know,” Keith clears his throat and stares at Hunk’s pod. He’s keenly aware of Lance tearing his eyes away from the card to look at him. “Even when he was hurt, Hunk kept telling me everything was okay.”

Lance huffs out a short laugh and Keith counts it as a win. “That sounds like him.”

They don’t speak anymore, but Keith doesn’t sense any tension like before.

. . . 

Keith thinks of the desert often.

He has conflicted feelings about that place. He remembers the freedom, the independence and self-sufficiency that made him feel lighter than ever before. He remembers the comforting quiet, the long days he could spend in peace while being certain no one would bother him.

But he remembers the loneliness, too. The heavy weight on his shoulders from Shiro’s disappearance the overwhelming sadness that would hit him at times, a loneliness that could hit him unexpectedly that had the power to make him stop in his tracks.

He’s always liked being alone, but he wonders if the desert might have been too much. Especially now, as he has a team he cares about and he doesn’t know what he would do if he had to be away from them again.

. . .

Something changes after that day on the floor of the infirmary.

Hunk gets out of the healing pod later that same day, a little tired but happy to be awake and see that the others are alright. Lance is practically in tears as he wraps his best friend in a suffocating hug, scolding the Yellow Paladin as harshly as he can manage while still soundly extremely relieved. Hunk lets everyone take their turns hugging him, laughing and smiling the entire time. When Keith is hesitant to approach him, hovering at the outside of the group and letting his guilt feed his fear, Hunk pulls him into a hug himself, reassuring Keith that it wasn’t his fault until Keith lets his shoulders relax and starts to believe him.

In the days since, Keith feels different around Lance.

It’s nothing bad, nothing like when they were new to Voltron and argued all the time, but something that feels like progress. Keith starts looking for Lance every time he enters a room, his heart swelling each time he finds him and sinking when he doesn’t. He stares at Lance for much longer than necessary, his chest warming whenever Lance turns to see him looking and smiles or pulls a funny face meant to tease that makes Keith fail to hold back laughter. At meals, Keith sits next to Lance and gets embarrassingly distracted watching the Blue Paladin interact with the others. He gets caught a couple of times, but no one ever says anything out loud. He just receives various stares of confusion and raised eyebrows from his fellow teammates that make him flush and avoid looking in Lance’s direction.

In training, Keith finds his concentration disrupted and his gaze drifting to Lance’s limber form. Even when he’s trying to focus on successfully completing a drill, his eyes always end up wandering away from his target to sweep over Lance, admiring his sharp aim and satisfied smirk as he takes out target after target. This starts to come back and haunt Keith as the pattern continues, the gladiator landing lucky hits that leave nasty bruises and make him ache for days. He internally berates himself every time he slips up, but he always thinks of Lance’s bright eyes and warm smile and thinks that maybe it isn’t so bad.

Keith doesn’t understand why this is happening to him. He knows that he and Lance are friends, and that they’ve been getting along a lot better recently, but that wouldn’t account for Keith’s abnormal behavior, even considering how few friends he’s had. He thinks that maybe there’s a truth inside him he doesn’t want accept, something about Lance that captivates yet scares him, and he spends sleepless nights tossing and turning in bed, staring at the ceiling while trying to get Lance’s voice out of his head so his heart can calm down. 

And maybe Keith really does know what’s happening to him, even if he’s not ready to admit it.

Shiro is the one who ends up confronting him.

Keith is lounging in his room, sitting on the floor with his back braced against the side of his bed as he mindlessly cleans his knife as if he hasn’t already done so a thousand times. He’s already trained for the day, though there’s always the chance he might go back for more later, and he doesn’t feel like going to hang around the others at the moment. But he knows that Lance is with Hunk in the kitchen and Pidge is off on her own working, though he’s not sure where everyone else is.

There’s a knock on his door and Keith puts his knife down next to him. He doesn’t bother getting up or responding, knowing that whoever it is will either let themselves in or leave. Sure enough, the door beeps and slides open to reveal Shiro. Keith doesn’t say anything, he just nods in acknowledgement as the Black Paladin steps inside. 

Shiro gestures at the space on the ground next to Keith. “Can I sit?”

Keith nods and moves his knife to his other side so it doesn’t accidentally stab Shiro. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to talk to you about what’s been happening recently.” Shiro says simply. “Let you know that you can always talk to me if you need it.’

Keith frowns. “What are you talking about?”

Shiro sighs but it’s not a sound meant to be cruel. “I think you know what I’m talking about, you just don’t want to say it out loud.”

Keith looks away to avoid the knowing stare Shiro’s giving him. He picks at a loose thread at the bottom of his shirt to give his hands something to do. He wants to say that he has no clue what Shiro’s saying, but he can’t lie. His chest feels hollow, like it’s been carved out with fear and shame. It was only a matter of time before someone noticed how distracted he’s been recently, and of course it would be Shiro to approach him about the matter. 

The older man must notice Keith’s mood change because he rests his hand comfortingly on his shoulder. “It’s okay, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I just want you to know you can talk to me if you need to, no judgement.”

He considers his options for a moment. It might be nice to talk about things out loud to sort out his thoughts, especially since his mind feels like a complete mess he can’t make sense of. Then again, it’s embarrassing for him to even think of voicing his feelings, even if it’s to Shiro. 

But he must be some new kind of desperate because he sighs and looks up at Shiro. “I’m confused.”

“Okay.” Shiro says with a soft smile, still eager to listen but clearly amused. “Care to elaborate?”

Keith runs his hands through his hair, not caring if it looks messy now. “Things have been…different recently and I’m not sure what to feel.”

“That’s okay. The team has changed a lot, it’s normal to feel uncertain about everything.”

“And it’s not just the entire team.” Keith practically growls in frustration. “I mean, that’s been weird too. I’m not used to being a part of anything, or anyone even wanting me to be, but it’s worse with a certain…someone.”

“Ah.” Shiro smiles knowingly, but he has the common decency to play along. “A certain someone.”

“Things are so different and I’m not sure what to think anymore. It’s not bad, it’s just confusing.”

“Well, I think that you didn’t expect things with this certain someone to change so much, and now you’re at a loss for what to do about it.” Shiro pauses until Keith hesitantly nods. “And it might be hard to think of, but I think you’ve already been handling this pretty well.”

Keith blinks once or twice. “Really?”

“Yes.” Shiro’s smile is confident and kind. “And I think you might already know what you want, you’re just scared of things changing again.”

Keith pulls his legs close to his chest and rests his chin on his knees. He let’s his hand dangle at his side to feel for the handle of his knife, seeking it’s familiar and comforting weight. “I guess.”

“You’ve always been cautious when it comes to emotions,” Shiro says softly. “And while that’s helped you get through hard times, it’s also held you back. Keith,” At the sound of his name, Keith looks up. Shiro squeezes his shoulder as he makes eye contact, his gaze proud and kind and reassuring. “Things won’t get worse if you take a chance, but things won’t get better if you don’t try. I don’t think it would ruin the team if you tried this out, in fact, it might actually help.”

Keith doesn’t respond, choosing instead to let Shiro’s words play on repeat in his head. 

“Just think about it.” Shiro says as he gives Keith one last pat on the shoulder and stands. He walks over to the door but looks back one last time. “Whatever you end up deciding, I’ll support you.”

The door swishes shut behind him, leaving Keith alone on the floor with his thoughts. He doesn’t get up for a long time, thinking of what Shiro said. But he’s too restless to be alone with his thoughts for too long, so he eventually rises with a determination to find something to do. He could find Allura or Coran and help them with whatever they’re doing, but he’s almost certain that Shiro will be with them now and he doesn’t want to encounter the Black Paladin so soon after their conversation. He could get some food from the kitchen, but Hunk and Lance are likely still in there and Keith doesn’t know if he could be around Lance right now without dissolving into an embarrassing mess.

He resolves to head over to the lounge and finally finish the romance novel Lance made him start so long ago. 

He expects it to be empty when he walks inside, but instead finds a mess spread out over almost the entire expanse of the couch. Cords are tangled together, winding across the couch and the floor and connecting various gadgets together. There are papers strewn everywhere, each covered in dark scribbles and lying either untouched and crisp, or slightly torn and crumpled into small balls. In the middle of this chaos sits Pidge, her gaze intensely focused on the screen of her laptop.

For a moment, Keith isn’t sure if he should stay here. Pidge is clearly working on something important, if the mess is anything to go by, and he doesn’t want to incur her wrath by accidentally tripping over a wire and causing everything to explode.

He’s heading back out when he hears her call out. “Keith, perfect! Can you help me with something?”

Keith turns back. “I don’t think I’m the best choice. But I could find maybe Hunk or Lance-”

Pidge huffs out a laugh. “Oh don’t be so dramatic, you’ll do just fine. Get over here!”

After some hesitation, Keith puts down his book on the floor and walks over to Pidge to receive his instructions. She types a couple more things before setting her laptop off to the side. 

“I’m trying to work on a new system to break through Galra encryptions,” She explains. “But I think I have a bad connection somewhere because I’m not getting the speed or accuracy I need. I’ll run a diagnostic on my computer and tell you where to go so we can fix the problem. Sound good?”

Keith shrugs. “Just tell me where to go.”

Pidge gets back on her laptop and proceeds to direct him around the lounge. At first, she uses all of the technical jargon she’s used to until she realizes Keith has no clue what she’s saying and is just running around in circles. Eventually, she just starts describing things as they are and Keith is actually able to help. 

He feels like he’s playing some messed-up version of twister. Pidge’s laptop beeps every time it analyzes the connections and she then proceeds to call out whatever connection she needs him to check next, meaning he has to scramble all over the place and wait for the next one. She must be enjoying this, if her amused tone and large smirk is anything to go by. After what feels like years, but is probably only minutes, she calls out in triumph and Keith lets out a sigh of relief.

“Good news,” She starts to say. “I found the problem. Bad news, it’s in two places. Good news again, they’re pretty close to each other. But bad news again, they’re not that close.”

Keith grits his teeth and runs a hand down his face. “Just tell me where.”

She directs him to two connections on the floor, far enough apart that he has to sit with his face squashed against the ground and his arms stretched as far out as possible. The floor is cold against his cheek and he’s grateful that he has his jacket to cover his arms, even if his back is aching from being bent so far over and his knees are burning. Pidge cackles from her perfectly comfortable position on the couch and he maturely sticks his tongue out at her.

He’s been in that position for maybe ten minutes when the door swishes open and he has to switch which cheek he’s leaning on to see who it is. Hunk and Lance are standing there with three bowls of something bright orange, both of them staring in confusion at Keith’s position on the floor. Keith’s face flushes a hot red, keenly aware of how ridiculous he must look to them.

“Uh, you alright there Keith?” Hunk asks, his face a strange mix of amusement and confusion.

Keith scowls, but he knows it doesn’t have the desired effect when Hunk snorts out a sudden laugh. Lance is staring at him with an odd expression on his face that makes Keith want to sink into the floor. “Peachy.”

“He’s helping me out.” Pidge informs them. Keith can’t see her face but he’s sure that she looks smug as she calls out, “Just a few more minutes, Keith!”

Keith frowns but stays where he is, unwilling to completely ruin Pidge’s work even if he’s frustrated. Hunk walks out of his field of view with two of the bowls, presumably to give one to Pidge, and Lance sits down next to Keith with his own bowl and places it on the floor.

Lance points at one of the connections Keith is holding, this one being two thick cords joined by a small blue box with green stripes. “Want me to hold this one?”

“Oh, thank you.” There’s a brief moment where Lance’s hand brushes Keith’s, warm and smooth, but then it’s gone, and Keith is pulling his hand away even if he doesn’t want to. He finally sits up fully, his other hand still keeping the other connection together, and he groans as he pops his back.

“Yeah, that couldn’t have been comfortable.” Lance remarks, smile wide. He gestures to his bowl of brightly colored goo with his free hand. “We would have brought you one, but we thought only Pidge was gonna be in here.”

“It’s fine.” Keith tells him. 

Lance clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck, his cheeks flushed and scrunched from his beaming smile. “If you want, we could share mine? I don’t mind, and Hunk really likes when people enjoy his food.”

Keith wants to say that he can head to the kitchen and get his own later, but he stops himself. He thinks of his conversation with Shiro, of taking chances and change. He looks over Lance’s flushed cheeks, his eager eyes and kind smile that never fails to make Keith’s heart stutter.

So instead, he says, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

If possible, Lance’s smile gets brighter and Keith mentally congratulates himself on a job well done. “Awesome! I already snuck a ton when Hunk was cooking so you should have the first bite.” From behind them, Hunk lets out an outraged yell and Lance stammers out a rushed apology as he pushes the bowl in Keith’s direction.

Keith scoops some of the goo out with the spoon and eyes its bright orange color before taking a careful bite. He doesn’t know what he was expecting, maybe something fruity or sour, but it’s entirely different. It’s spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. It actually reminds him of a quick chili he would make in his shack when he was running out of supplies.

“It’s kind of like chili.” Keith tells Lance.

The Blue Paladin’s eyes go bright and he bounces in excitement. “Yeah, I thought so, too! Pretty good, right?”

“Yeah,” Keith is slightly taken aback by the taste, something that almost makes him long for the similar meal on Earth. “It is.”

He takes another bite and pushes the bowl back in Lance’s direction. He immediately takes a large spoonful and groans around his mouthful, praising Hunk as he takes a couple more. Keith tries not to think of Lance’s lips being around the same spoon as the bowl comes back his way and he takes a few more bites. 

They trade it back and forth for a few minutes until the bowl is completely clean. Keith makes sure Hunk knows how much he enjoys the food and watches in horror as Lance goes so far as to lick the bowl clean. Still stuck until Pidge finishes working, Keith leans back on his free hand with his legs stretched out, perfectly fine with letting the others talk around him. 

Pidge and Hunk are discussing what she’s working on, throwing words back and forth that only seem to grow in length while Lance waits for the perfect moments to interject with jokes based upon their chattering. Keith is okay with this, he likes just sitting amongst people who tolerate his company with his stomach full. The only thing he can think of that would make this better would be Lance sitting closer to him, so he can feel the warmth from his body, maybe even his hand in his.

But Keith doesn’t let his mind wander too far. Even with Shiro’s advice ringing in his ears, there’s still a heavy fear that weighs down his gut and lingers at the back of his mind.

“You okay, Keith?” Lance whispers next to him, quiet enough that Pidge and Hunk can’t hear. He’s not as close as Keith would ideally want, but he’s still close enough that Lance’s words blow a puff of air against his neck and a shiver runs down his spine.

“Fine, why?” Keith raises an eyebrow and Lance absently scratches his arm.

“You were frowning.” Lance tells him, his voice light and kind with a hint of concern.

Keith is touched that Lance was paying close enough attention to him to notice that. But then his face flushes when he remembers what he was thinking about. “I’m fine, just thinking.”

“Anything you want to talk about?” Lance’s face is open and welcoming. If this had happened months earlier, Keith would have thought Lance was setting him up for some kind of joke. But now he knows him better, they both know each other better, and he knows that Lance wouldn’t do that to him, not when he looks so genuine.

Keith considers taking up his offer for a moment. He’s so tired of hesitating and thinking, he just wants to act. But there’s still that horrible fear that’s making him stop every time he gets close, that tells him nothing good will come of it.

He’s still weighing his options when Pidge shouts in excitement. “Done! You guys can let go now.”

Keith let’s go of the connection as soon as the words are out of her mouth, his fingers stiff from remaining in the same spot for so long. “Need any more help, Pidge?”

“Nah,” She cracks her knuckles before returning to her typing. “I should be good. Besides, Hunk’s sticking around to hash out some designs with me so I can just use him if I need to.”

Keith rises from the floor, surprised when Lance follows suit with a bashful expression. “Do you want to do something? We don’t have to like, train or anything, but we could find a movie or a game or something?”

He looks nervous about his own invitation, but Keith would be lying if he said he didn’t want to stay around Lance for a little longer. “Sure. What do you have in mind?”

Lance blinks before a smile splits his face, like he wasn’t expecting Keith to say yes. “Oh! Um, can you actually meet me in the control room in like twenty minutes?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you then.” Keith feels like electricity is buzzing beneath his skin, filling him with excitement and anxiety at the same time. 

As he walks out of the lounge, he hears Hunk say, “Wow, Lance” and Lance’s muffled reply of, “Shut up, Hunk” before there’s an eruption of laughter and Keith is too far away to hear anything more. 

Back in his room, he finds himself too restless to do much of anything. After some internal debate, he takes a quick shower for lack of anything better to do and spends ten minutes agonizing over whether or not he should wear his jacket or leave it in his room. Eventually, he settles on wrapping it around his waist just in case. He stops himself before he leaves and retrieves the bracelet Lance gave him on Salutem. He’s not much of a jewelry wearer, but the cold stones just feel right on his wrist. Satisfied with his choices, he heads out.

He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous. He keeps telling himself that it’s just Lance, that they’ve been around each other so many times and this is no different. But there’s a part of him that wants this to be different, that maybe he wants this to be the change he so desperately craves.

When he steps into the control room, he has to take a moment to process before he advances forward.

It’s nothing too spectacular. Overall, it looks the same as always, the stars glittering in the background and the air filled with a calm quiet. But in front of the platform where Allura usually stands is a blanket, the one that Lance and Pidge purchased stretched out in a careful rectangle and shimmering with an iridescent rainbow with a couple of pillows on top of it. Lance kneels on top of the blanket, bent over and smoothing out the corners. 

He perks up when he hears Keith’s footsteps and smiles. “So, what do you think?”

Keith stands over the edge of the blanket, not sure if he should sit on the pristine surface. Lance rolls his eyes when Keith hesitates and grasps him gently around his wrist and pulls him to the floor. Lance must feel the bracelet beneath his touch because he smiles broadly. He ends of crossing his legs next to Lance, who is still kneeling, a pillow pressed against his back. “What is it exactly?”

Lance knocks him on the arm, the blow gentle and clearly teasing. “I figured we could watch a movie in here! Then we can stargaze if we aren’t tired, this is a perfect place for it. That okay with you?”

Keith nods and Lance pulls out a small device from his pocket, something that looks like a miniature remote, and sets in on the blanket in front of them. He presses a button and a hologram sprouts up from the device. 

They move the pillows back so they can lean against the short platform without bruising their backs. The movie starts quickly, with an opening market scene packed with all kinds of aliens Keith has yet to encounter. “What’s this movie even about?”

“I think it’s supposed to be action? I couldn’t read the title and Coran refused to give me a summary, but he told me that much.” Lance informs him. His lips are pursed and his brow is furrowed in concentration as he stares at the hologram. Keith knows he should be paying attention too, but he would much rather stare at Lance’s face.

The plot is hard to follow, especially since it’s in Altean and seems to be filled with weird cultural references and tropes that go over both of their heads. There must be a gruesome action scene at least every ten minutes, each one more convoluted than the last. At first, they try their best to pay attention. Keith never really has much to say during movies anyways, he’s just content with watching and keeping his thoughts to himself.

Lance, however, is entirely different.

He must have tried to remain quiet at first, but the movie eventually gets so strange that he has to let out a noise of frustration and throw his arms out for emphasis, nearly smacking Keith in the face. “I’m sorry, man, but this is ridiculous!”

“It is?” Keith raises an eyebrow to challenge him, but he doesn’t mind Lance’s sudden interjection. He actually finds it endearing.

“Yes, I’m sorry, but it makes no sense that she would trust him after everything he’s done!” Lance gestures at what must be the heroine of the story, though Keith finds that hard to believe since they’re already a third of the way through the movie and she’s killed about fifty people.

Keith finds himself amused and impressed at Lance’s analysis. Unable to comprehend any of the dialogue, Keith had just been focusing on the choreography in the fight scenes and noting what did and did not seem realistic. He’s amazed that Lance even has a grasp of anything that’s happening. “How do you understand any of this?”

Lance looks down at him and winks, thankfully looking back at the screen before he can see Keith’s face turn bright red. “I’m great at reading body language, it’s a natural talent.”

“Really?” Keith isn’t really skeptical, he just wants to keep this moment going for as long as possible. 

“Yup!” Lance turns away fully from the movie, adjusting himself so he’s lying on his side, his elbow propping his head up from the platform. Keith only lets his eyes trail up and down Lance’s body for a couple of seconds, trying to be as discreet as possible as he admires Lance’s slender form. His shirt has pulled slightly away from his torso with this new position, meaning Keith gets a little peek at a sliver of his skin. “For example,” He squints his eyes and looks over Keith. “I can tell that you’re actually having fun right now.”

“Uh-huh.” Lance is entirely right, but Keith is never one to give in easily. “Why do you say that?”

“Well,” Lance has that teasing smirk on his face, the one where he knows he’s right but plays along anyway, the one that makes Keith’s insides feel like mush. “You’re not tense, you may have your jacket with you but you’re not even wearing it, and you don’t have your arms crossed. All signs point to you being relaxed and comfortable, please hold your applause.”

“Pretty impressive,” Keith admits. “But now you’re gonna have to be wrong about one thing because I’m kind of cold.”

He reaches down to untie his jacket from around his waist when Lance lets out a disappointed huff and shoots his hand out to grab Keith’s wrist, preventing him from moving any further. “Wait.”

Lance slowly lets go of his wrist, and Keith misses the warmth of his skin, but he stays in one place, curious to see the Blue Paladin’s plan. Lance sits back up, shaking his shoulders and Keith belatedly realizes that instead of letting Keith put on his own readily available jacket, Lance is shrugging out of his own to give it to Keith. He flushes when Lance hands it over like it’s nothing unusual.

Keith holds it hesitantly in his hands. It’s certainly heavier than his own jacket, but it also looks a lot warmer than his would be. “Lance, you don’t have to give this to me. I have my own.”

Lance blushes and rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, but I figured mine would be a lot warmer than that fashion disaster you think passes as clothing.”

Keith’s eyes narrow in automatic defense. “Hey, it’s very practical.”

“Whatever you say man.” Lance smirks, clearly not believing him. 

“Won’t you be cold?” Keith tries one last time. 

“I’ll be fine,” Lance assures him, his smirk turning into a kind smile. “Besides, I have your company to keep me warm.”

Keith blushes and gives in. As he slides his arms into the sleeves of Lance’s jacket, he thinks about his conversation with Shiro. The weight of the cloth is comforting and warm. Keith pulls it tighter around his torso and subtly sniffs the collar. It smells like salt and something he can’t quite place but knows belongs to Lance.

“Perfect.” Lance tells him. Keith blushes again, his only comfort coming from Lance’s own flushed cheeks. “Now let’s get back to the movie, I’m pretty sure we’ve missed like twenty fight scenes. 

Keith snorts and leans back, sinking into the warmth of the jacket. He thinks he should be nervous, that everything about this moment should make him more scared than he was before. But there’s a strange calm that’s fallen over him. Maybe it’s because Shiro’s talk put him at ease, but it’s more likely that Lance’s presence has a calming effect over him, like gentle waves lapping against the very edge of a beach. Always there, on the edge, but never forceful unless you approach it for yourself.

He looks out of the corner of his eye to check on Lance and finds the other paladin already staring at him. Instead of returning to his original position after giving Keith his jacket, Lance had instead returned to his place lying on his side with his head propped up. His eyes are trained on Keith’s face and he doesn’t bother looking away when Keith notices.

“What are you doing?” Keith is too aware of Lance’s eyes still on him. “You’re missing the movie.”

“I don’t mind,” Lance tells him. Keith hates how smooth and calm his voice, mostly because it makes Keith feel as warm as the jacket. “I’d much rather look at you.”

Keith honestly doesn’t know what to say to that. He can only splutter and blush like an idiot while Lance’s face splits into a beautiful smile and laughs. His heart feels full and warm like it could break out of his chest and fly away. Shiro told him to try, so try he will.

Lance, naturally, beats him to it. He finally calms down from his fit of laughter and sits up. Suddenly the warmth of his jacket isn’t enough, and Keith wishes he were closer. He sits up properly, hands twitching in his lap like he wants to grab something, and Keith is struck by how nervous he suddenly appears. “Listen, I don’t want to push you or make you uncomfortable or anything, but there’s something here, right?”

Keith can hear his heartbeat in his ears. He feels too hot in the jacket, but somehow not hot enough. “Yeah,” He swallows and looks anywhere but Lance. “There is.”

When he looks up, face surely red, Lance is practically preening. His face is relaxed and calm, his shoulder comfortably slumped like a heavy weight has been lifted from his shoulders. Keith feels the same way, like his chest spent the longest time trapped and constricted and he can finally breath again. The only noticeable difference, of course, is that Lance’s face looks smooth and perfect with only the slightly dusting of pink along his cheekbones while Keith feels like his is on fire.

They sit there for a few moments longer than necessary, just absorbing each other’s company. The air isn’t tense or uncomfortable, just a little hesitant and nervous. But before these feelings, before Keith got completely blindsided, Lance is first and foremost his teammate. Keith trusts him with his life and that extends to off the battlefield. If Keith can rest easy knowing that Lance has his back in this war, then that faith should extend to a tentative, new relationship that they both clearly want, even if they don’t know how to initiate it.

Take a chance, Shiro had told him. A new swell of courage builds up in Keith’s chest, burning through his nerves until his fears subside and he’s overwhelmed with the urge to do something. 

Cautiously, Keith scoots across the blanket until he’s sitting directly in front of Lance. They’re still not touching, but they’re so close that Keith can smell something fruity originating from Lance’s skin. He wonders if Lance had specifically put on a lotion or something before coming here. His skin does have a gentle shimmer if Keith looks close enough, and his lips definitely have a delicate shine to them. 

Lance licks his lips and smiles at him. Slowly, as if he’s afraid Keith is a wild animal that he might startle away, Lance reaches out and grabs both of Keith’s hands in his own, clutching them tightly enough that Keith feels anchored down but loosely enough that Keith can pull away at any moment. As always, Keith is in awe at how considerate Lance is. Even if it’s through the smallest actions, Keith feels them echo through his heart. “This okay?”

“Great,” Keith says. He has to swallow to keep his voice even and he smirks in satisfaction when Lance’s eyes immediately drift down to follow the motion along his throat. His fingers twitch along Lance’s wrist, and his heart soars when he feels Lance wearing his matching bracelet, just another simple gesture that feels like the strongest connection.

“I’ve thought about this for a long time.” Lance admits. He rubs his thumb over Keith’s knuckles, sending a shiver down his spine. If Keith trusted his voice, he would tell Lance the same thing. “About all of this, about you, even you wearing my jacket. I wanted this to be as perfect as possible.”

“It is perfect.” Keith assures him. “You really know how to get to me, huh?”

Lance chuckles, thumbs still running over Keith’s knuckles. “It’s my specialty.”

Keith feels so warm and happy and safe that he feels like he owes it to Lance to tell him something about as kind as everything Lance has done for him. “I’ve thought about this, too. For a long time. And I guess I was scared, I’ve always been afraid of things changing and people leaving me.” Keith looks Lance right in the eyes which are soft and empathetic and kind and the most gorgeous blue he has ever seen. “But I trust you, and I trust you with this.”

“Thank you.” Lance says. It’s such a simple thing to say, but Keith feels the power and promise behind it. He hears the way Lance’s voice catches in his throat, like he’s receiving some high honor and is about to give the most heartfelt speech ever. “I trust you, too.”

He removes one of his hands from Keith’s and Keith immediately misses the warmth, instinctively latching onto the remaining hand. With his free hand, Lance cups the side of Keith’s face, the Red Paladin letting himself sigh happily and lean into the touch. His face is tilted up so he can stare into Lance’s bright eyes.

“Can I?” Lance whispers and Keith can feel his breath against his face. 

Sure that his words would fail him, Keith nods and Lance leans forward, his eyes fluttering closed the last thing he sees before Keith himself closes his eyes. Lance’s lips are soft and gentle against his, gliding smoothly as Keith eagerly returns the sentiment. They stay locked like that for what could be minutes or hours, careful and slow and Keith feels relieved. 

When Lance finally pulls away, Keith keeps his eyes closed for a little longer, savoring the tingling taste of Lance on his lips and the warmth that’s flooded his body. When he finally opens his eyes again, Lance is staring at him with a beaming smile that does nothing to help the warmth go away.

Lance shifts his hands to Keith’s arms, running his fingers up and down the sleeves of his own jacket. Out of the corner of his eye, Keith can see that their movie is ending, the heroine walking away into a bright sunset, hand-in-hand with the guy Lance was against. Keith is pleased to see a familiar trope from Earth movies carry over to an Altean one. 

“Oh, bummer, it’s over.” Lance says, sounding barely disappointed that they missed most of their movie. He smirks at Keith, eyes sparkling like they’re filled with as many stars as they can see around them. “Want to stay a little longer?”

Keith smiles back. “Definitely.”

They end up spending the night in there, Keith securely tucked against Lance’s front, making up their own constellations and making every excuse to stay, just a little longer.

. . . 

When Keith got upset when he was young, so young he could barely speak and walk by himself, his dad would take him outside to look at the stars.

He would hold him tightly in his arms. Keith remembers the feel of his dad’s jacket, the smell of wood smoke that reminded him of home and helped calm his tears. His dad would bounce him up and down, just enough to get his attention, and point out all of the constellations he could. Cassiopeia and Pegasus and Andromeda, Keith still remembers the names and matching patterns in the sky. As Keith’s gasping breaths started to calm down, his dad would point out the individual stars and the moon and everything he possibly could to try and distract his son.

Once the sobbing finally subsided, his dad would smooth out his hair and sit down with him in the cool sand. “Whenever you’re lonely, look at the stars.” He would say. “Long after your mother and I are gone, just look to the stars and you’ll find us.”

And Keith always would, even if it made his heart feel emptier than before.

. . . 

Keith adjusts to their new relationship relatively quickly.

They hadn’t even had to tell the team. The day after they’d gotten together, they walked into breakfast together. If Keith had to go by the variety of their expressions, from Pidge and Hunk’s smirks to Allura and Coran’s kind smiles and Shiro proud thumbs up, they could all clearly tell that something had happened between him and Lance. But none of them explicitly brought it up and neither did Lance, so they all went on with their day.

Keith isn’t used to showing any affection in public. He’s not entirely adverse to it, he just needs time to adjust. No one has been as willing to physically touch him since he was younger, and now he’s unsure on how to proceed with Lance. He’d been scared to bring the matter up with Lance, but he should know better at this point that Lance is nothing but accepting and understanding. He swore an oath to follow Keith’s wishes, only doing things in front of the others if Keith initiates or gives explicit permission. The promise makes Keith’s insides feel like mush, and Lance is absolutely no help when he seals the deal with a quick kiss to Keith’s lips then forehead. 

Keith is grateful for his team, but he’s especially grateful for Lance. 

This is only solidified when they go on their next mission. 

It’s simple compared to some of the things they’ve done in the past. There are no fire fights or infiltrations, rather they are taking on diplomatic roles. The paladins escorted a group of cargo ships carrying medical equipment toward a refugee camp, ensuring they arrived safely then staying to mingle and help for a couple of days.

It’s not that Keith doesn’t understand how important these kinds of missions are. He knows that what they’re doing is important. Without these supplies, the camps would be left without vital resources and many lives would be lost. He’s just not built for this kind of mindless work, even with so great a cause. He’s meant to be in battle, putting his life on the line so others don’t have to. And he will always gladly do that. But for the moment, that’s not where he’s needed, and he can deal with that.

They’ve finished unloading about half the ships when they take a break. They pass around some water pouches and hang around some crates at the center of the camp. Lance is animatedly telling a couple of refugees a story about his siblings, the rest of the team gathered around to listen. As much as he yearns to stay near Lance, Keith feels like he’s filled with nervous energy, unable to sit still for long. Careful not to disturb the group, Keith sets aside his water pouch and wanders off.

He weaves his way through the tents, nodding politely when someone looks his way. He makes it to the edge of the camp and sits on a crate. It’s quiet out here, only slightly disturbed by the low murmur originating from the camp. Keith likes the calm, and the expanse of brown stone and stand reminds him of Earth. Though he’s nostalgic, he finds his feelings now conflicted when thinking about his shack. It once comforted him, but now it reminds him of a time when he was alone, before he had the team and Lance.

There’s the approaching sound of crunching footsteps and Keith automatically tenses, knowing that it can’t be an attacker but maybe one of the camp’s organizers come to ask him something. As a paladin of Voltron, Keith tends to attract the kind of attention and questions that he would much rather be directed at Allura or Shiro. But he can grin and bear it if need be. 

But when he turns around to politely start the conversation, it isn’t a refugee approaching him. It’s Pidge, her face pulled into a frown and gaze directed at the dirt as she kicks around random rocks. She takes a seat on the crate next to Keith, eyes still focused on the ground. Keith isn’t entirely sure she knows he’s there.

“Why aren’t you with the rest of the team?” Keith asks.

Pidge huffs out a short breath but still doesn’t look up. “Wasn’t really feeling like it.”

Keith’s no good at this. Pidge is clearly upset about something, her face pinched in a strange combination of frustration and sadness that pulls at Keith’s heart. He wishes Lance were here right now. He’s the best at comforting their teammates, always having the right words to provide reassurance and support. Unsure with how to proceed, Keith tries to think about what Lance would do if he was in this position.

“Are you okay?” He figures that’s a good start, offering an outlet for Pidge to start talking. 

She sighs and finally looks up, glancing behind them at the camp and then facing forward and settling there. “I don’t know.”

It’s quiet for a bit, the tense harsh quiet that Keith hates so he clears his throat and tries again. “If you want to talk, I can listen, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Pidge snorts at that and Keith counts the sound as a tiny win. “Thanks. I don’t know, it’s hard.” She looks over at Keith who’s silently praying that his face portrays as much encouragement and kindness as he’s trying to convey. “It’s just, whenever we come to places like this, there’s a tiny piece of me that hopes we’ll find my dad and Matt and I know it’s ridiculous, but I’m always disappointed anyways.”

Keith really feels for her. They may not be close like she is with Lance and Hunk, but he still considers her his friend. He doesn’t really understand what she’s going through, but he feels bad that there’s not really anything he can do to help. But he can’t just let her sit here, clearly missing her dad and brother without at least trying to ease her pain.

“That sucks,” Keith tells her and she looks up at him, a little confused and eyes shining with unshed tears. “But you can’t blame yourself for being hopeful. We’ll find them, Pidge, I promise you. Whether it be at a camp like this or we have to take them back ourselves, we’ll get them back.”

Pidge manages a smile, though it’s shaky, but she at least looks a little better. “Thanks, Keith. You know, you’re better at this than you think.”

Keith smiles back. From behind them, another voice enters. “There you guys are!”

Lance walks over to them, beaming and happy and Keith can’t help but smile back. Pidge punches Keith’s arm lightly and stands with a smirk. “I’ll leave you two.” She starts to walk away but she hesitates and as an afterthought, she runs back quickly and squeezes Keith in a quick one-armed hug before running. “Thanks, Keith.”

Lance watches her go then takes the seat she previously occupied. “What was that all about?”

“She’s missing her family.” Keith informs him. He sticks out his hand and Lance easily takes it, their fingers intertwining and dangling comfortably between them. “I tried to talk to her, I don’t know if I was much help, I’m not really good at this sort of thing.”

“Well, that’s not true.” Lance immediately objects. “You’re a lot better than you think, and I know that from personal experience. Besides, she looked alright.”

“I guess.” Keith concedes. Internally, as always, Lance’s kind words make his heart beat faster and he swings their arms between them, knowing it was the right action when Lance beams at him. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in the middle of telling a thrilling story.”

Lance ignores his teasing tone, not letting it dampen his smile. “Tragically, all good stories must come to an end.” Keith snorts and Lance gently knocks his hand against one of the crates. “But you know, I’ve developed this habit recently where I always look for you, no matter where we are, and when I couldn’t find you, I decided to look.” Keith blushes furiously at this admission. “You know, to make sure you didn’t start a fight or something.”

“Oh, shut up.” Keith grumbles, face still burning as he shoves Lance with his free hand. Lance laughs loud and hard, not bothering to hide how amused he is. Keith could watch him laugh for hours, little tears of mirth gathering at the corners of his eyes and his lips pulled into a pleased smile. 

“But seriously,” Lance starts to say once he’s calmed down, wiping at his eyes with his free hand. “Are you okay? I missed you back there.”

“I’m sorry,” Keith sighs. He keeps his eyes focused on the expanse of dirt in front of them, not wanting to see Lance’s happiness disappear because of him. “I didn’t mean to leave in the middle of your story.”

“Oh, Keith, that’s not what I mean. I was just worried, not mad or anything.”

Keith sighs again, this time in relief. “Oh. Well, I just get kind of restless on these missions.” He knows he could stop there, that this answer would be enough to satisfy Lance’s curiosity. But he wants to say more, because Lance is always so open and patient and kind and Keith wants that to be mutual. “And, I don’t know, when I see all of you guys together and having fun I feel out of place. And it’s not anyone’s fault,” Keith quickly adds, seeing the ways Lance frowns and opens his mouth to say something. “I’m just weird.”

“You’re not weird,” Lance is quick to say. “You’re amazing. I’m sorry you feel out of place, but you know you have a place with us, right? As our teammate and our friend.”

“I do, but I just feel wrong, like I’m not meant to be there.”

“You are meant to be there.” Lance moves so he’s entirely facing Keith, both of his hands wrapping around Keith’s. “Sometimes, I feel the same. I can barely understand what Pidge and Hunk are saying half the time and all of Allura and Shiro’s political mumbo jumbo.”

“That’s a lie,” Keith mumbles, staring at their joined hands rather than Lance’s face. “You love that kind of stuff.”

“Okay, well that’s true,” Lance huffs out a laugh that shifts Keith’s bangs. “But my point is that whenever I think of that, I have to remind myself that I do belong. And sometimes that just takes a thought, but sometimes that means I find someone to hang around to reassure myself.”

“You belong.” Keith squeezes his hand. “I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

“I feel the same about you.” Lance says. Keith finally looks up. Lance has that adorable pink blush across his cheeks, his eyes sincere and smile gentle. “So whenever you feel like that, please remember that you can always find me. Or someone else even, but please come to me because I love being around you.”

Keith laughs at that and doesn’t protest when Lance brings his knuckles up to his lips for a quick kiss. He can feel Lance’s smile through the glove. “Same here, for all of that. You’re important, to me and to the team.”

“Glad we agree.” Lance mumbles against his hand. He puts down his arms and leans forward with his eyes closing. Keith happily meets him in the middle, their kiss sweet and reassuring. “You know, this would be a lot more romantic if we had like a sunset behind us or something.”

“It’s the middle of the day,” Keith points out with his eyebrow raised. “I’m not waiting here for hours just so you can have your moment.”

“Fear not!” Lance exclaims. He lets go of Keith’s hands, turning to the side to dig into the side of his armor. Keith watches in amusement, not sure what he’s doing but still endeared by Lance’s enthusiasm. With a triumphant shout, he turns back around, his hand raised with a piece of paper in his clutches.

Keith doesn’t know what to say. In his hand is the postcard that Keith got so long ago on Salutem and took even longer to gather the courage to gift it to Lance. The sunset it depicts is slightly wrinkled, probably due to Lance wrestling it into his armor, but other than that it looks exactly the same. 

Keith stares with his mouth agape, sure that his eyes are comically wide but still not caring. “You have that with you?”

“Obviously,” Lance huffs. He rises so he can push their two crates together. When he sits back down, it’s right next to Keith. Their armor is clunky enough that Keith can barely feel Lance’s typical warmth, but he doesn’t mind as long as he’s close. “It’s my lucky charm.”

He’s still speechless, something Lance looks ridiculously proud of, so he gives up on trying to form a coherent thought. He settles for leaning against Lance, his shoulder slotting smoothly into the curve of Lance’s shoulder. Lance holds one arm out with the postcard in his hand. With his other, he grabs Keith’s hand again and squeezes his fingers. 

“There,” Lance says, his voice quiet above Keith. “Much better.”

They don’t move from their position until Allura finds them and makes them work again, but Keith can’t forget the piece of paper Lance has on him.

. . . 

Keith isn’t good at goodbyes, but he’s used to them. 

His mom left before he even knew her. Then his dad, then every single other foster family he’d lived with. Then, somehow Shiro was gone too and Keith felt alone again for the longest time.

But now, he has a team, he has a family, he has Lance.

And he may be used to goodbyes, but he never wants to say goodbye to this.

. . .

After a few months of dating, Keith and Lance have settled into a comfortable routine. 

They eat their meals together, train together, and spend most of their free time together. Sometimes, they even sleep together, Keith relishing in laying against Lance’s warm body after a long day. They work as an incredible team together, able to adjust and compensate for each other smoothly in battle. As a result of their steady relationship, Voltron feels like it’s improved. The team efficiently completes mission after mission and taking down the Galra empire doesn’t seem like such an impossible task anymore. 

Keith doesn’t think he could be happier.

Since they make an effective duo, Allura sends him and Lance on a scouting mission.

The planet, to the best of their knowledge, does not host sentient life. However, the life that does inhabit the planet is extremely volatile. The way Coran describes the viscous creatures with sharp claws and even sharper teeth does nothing to make anyone feel good about this mission, but Keith remains confident that he and Lance can handle whatever happens. The planet apparently exhibits weird magnetic distortions due to the nearby star that result in extreme storms in the upper atmosphere that last for days, leaving the planet’s surface untouched while also leaving it impossible to enter and leave the planet for periods of time. They would need to hurry to reach the planet’s surface before their window of opportunity closed, meaning Keith and Lance would be trapped on the planet for at least a day, giving them plenty of time to search for any assets in their fight against the Galra while also making sure the Galra had not made contact.

They brief on the bridge, ready in their armor and the Blue Lion already packed with supplies for their journey, a giant hologram of the planet spinning slowly in front of them. Allura makes it disappear, her hands clasped in front of her. She doesn’t look nervous, which encourages Keith. “Once you get to the Blue Lion, you will have approximately 30 dobashes to reach the planet’s surface until the next storm begins. The storm should last 30 vargas, during which you will not be able to communicate with the castle. Should you need more time to complete your mission, we can discuss it at the time.” She smiles at the two of them. “I trust you will do well on your own.”

“Don’t worry about us!” Lance slings his arm across Keith’s shoulders. Even though they’ve been dating for a while, he can’t help how his heart speeds up at Lance’s touch. “We’ll be fine, won’t we, Keith?”

Keith nods and Allura returns the motion. “If you’re both ready, then I suggest you get going. Good luck.” 

Lance grabs him by his hand and pulls him down to Blue’s hangar, his grin never leaving his face. “This’ll be like a vacation!” He sits down eagerly in the pilot’s seat, Blue’s screen going live as they move out of the castle. Keith leans against the back of Lance’s chair and watches as they approach the planet, the atmosphere dotted with dark clouds that cover it mainly green surface. “Just the two of us, kicking butt, camping in the wild.”

“Did you hear what Coran said?” As much as Keith likes what Lance is saying, he knows they need to stay focused. Now that they’re outside the safety of the castle, Keith feels his gut twist in dread, a feeling that tells him this mission won’t be as pleasant as Lance wishes it could be. 

“Yes,” Lance doesn’t look deterred. “But that’s not going to stop me from trying to make the most of this.”

Keith can’t fault him for that, so he leaves the subject alone. The cockpit is quiet as they break through the atmosphere, save for the occasional pinging of the displays and a bit of turbulence that shakes them from side to side. Now Keith can see the broad expanse of the planet, covered generously by forests with a few lakes and meadows dispersed amongst the extensive plant life. From here, it looks like any other planet, maybe even like the tropical rainforests back on Earth, but just knowing what Coran told them keeps Keith on edge. He stares carefully at trees as if he might see some beady eyes staring up at them through the leaves.

Lance sets them down in a clearing dotted with small pink flowers. They take only their bayards, leaving the rest of their gear behind. As they walk down Blue’s ramp, Keith is hit by how humid it is. He’s used to heat, living alone in a desert for about a year will do that to a person, but the extra water in the air immediately makes his skin feel sticky and his lungs feel already full. Lance looks entirely at home in this climate, his hands resting confidently on his hips as he stares up at the sky. Keith wonders if this place reminds him of home at all.

The shield materializes around the Blue Lion as they move away. They stop at the edge of the clearing before going further into the forest. Lance claps his hands together, somehow smiling brightly in the heat. “Alright, we could take the vehicle that’s in Blue but I think there’s too many trees for that to get us very far.”

“I agree.” Keith says. Even with his helmet on, the weather’s still getting to him and he has to urge to abandon it completely so he can at least wipe the sweat off his face. “We should continue on foot.”

“We can go as far as we can,” Lance strategizes. “Then we can head back and move Blue to a different location. That way we can cover more ground and she’ll still be close enough if we need her.”

“Sounds good.” 

They summon their bayards and march on into the forest, stepping around foliage and roots. Keith has the strange urge to reach out and grab Lance’s hand, if only to reassure himself that he’s not alone on this weird planet where every piece of him is telling him to get out of there. But he resists the temptation. It wouldn’t be practical to make their way through the trees with their hands linked, and they certainly wouldn’t be prepared if they came across one of the creatures Coran warned them about.

The trees are just as dense as they appeared to be from above. The roots entwine intricately together, making it look like the trees are trying to strangle each other. After almost tripping twice, saved only by Lance’s quick reflexes, he’s careful to keep a careful eye out for any hidden roots that his feet could catch on. Bright green moss covers the trunks and parts of the roots, a strange patchwork that sprouts the occasional vibrantly colored flower. If he looks up, he can only see glimpses of a sky which is dark grey from the wild atmospheric storms high above. 

It’s so quiet out here that Keith is almost used to the silence when he realizes how off-putting it is. There are no birds chirping like on Earth, no croaking of frogs or any sign that there’s any life surrounding them. There’s not even the rustling of leaves from wind and if he and Lance weren’t there making sounds on the forest floor, he’s sure the place would be even eerier than now. 

“I take back what I said about this being a vacation.” Lance mutters. From the way he looks at the trees around them, Keith can see whatever excitement he felt earlier has drained to leave behind wary caution. He still manages to smile at Keith when he looks over, though. “This place is creepy. It’s too quiet.”

Keith silently agrees. He’s not feeling good about spending a day on this planet, he just feels motivated to get the job done sooner so they can spend as much time as possible away from the forest and safe in the Blue Lion. 

“We should still go on a vacation, though.” Lance continues. “Definitely not here, but there has to be a planet we can agree on.”

“We don’t really have any time for a vacation.” Keith points out. 

Lance pouts. “But we kind of had a vacation on that ocean planet a while back.”

“Then do you really think Allura would let us go on another one?” Keith grunts as his foot gets caught again and he has to pause to pull it free. 

“Probably not.” Lance’s shoulders slump and Keith feels bad for crushing his hopes like that. But then he perks up again, shooting Keith a sly grin as they move forward. “But if we had to go to a planet for diplomatic reasons and it happened to also be a great vacation spot, then Allura couldn’t refuse, right?”

A smile pulls at Keith’s lips. “I guess not.”

“Easy, then!” Lance proclaims. “We do that, and the vacation is ours!”

“I look forward to it.”

“You better! If you thought a vacation was great before we were dating, just you wait. I’ll make this one even better.” As Lance walks alongside him, his swinging hand brushes against Keith’s, the closest thing they can manage in this dense vegetation. “Long walks, movies, date nights, think of all the possibilities!”

“That does sound pretty nice,” Keith admits. “But those are all things we can do on the castle, you know.”

“It’s the principle of the thing!” Lance exclaims, and Keith has to bite his lip to keep from smiling at the way his voice cracks. 

“We don’t need a vacation to do those things.” Keith says when Lance doesn’t continue. Lance looks over at him, his face open and attentive. “I want to do those things with you no matter where we are.”

Lance smiles widely and does hold Keith’s hand for a moment, squeezing his fingers kindly before dropping them again. “Aw, Keith. Me too, I just think it would be nice to get away from it all for a bit. But we’ll do those things.”

Keith’s face is warm at the reassurance, if that’s even possible considering how hot he already is, and his heart feels full.

They work their way through the forest, Lance talking about his ideas for dates they could go on with Keith interjecting every so often. Keith appreciates Lance doing this. He knows he’s serious about what he’s saying, but without Lance’s smooth words, they would be left with the brittle silence and he doesn’t know if he could take any more of it. Keith likes listening to Lance talk, he likes how excited and determined he gets, arms gesturing wildly around him and his brow pulling into an adorable crinkle at the center of his forehead, eyes wide and eager. Without the sound of his voice, he would be alone with the quiet that makes his gut churn and his skin crawl.

Though the storm prevents them from seeing space from their position, Keith can tell that the sun is way passed its midpoint when Keith can see a different clearing from the one they left Blue in about 300 feet in the distance. They’ve been walking for hours and have found nothing but so many trees that Keith thinks the color green is starting to lose all meaning to him. He’s covered in a thick layer of sweat that makes his bodysuit stick to his skin and there’s an itch at the back of his neck that he can’t scratch. Lance doesn’t appear to be much better off, his face glistening with its own perspiration.

“How bout we make it to that clearing then head back?” Lance suggests. Keith can’t agree faster.

They come to a stop at the edge of the clearing. Lance sits down on a root, bayard propped between his legs as he briefly removes his helmet to wipe away the sweat gathered on his forehead. Keith leans against a tree and closes his eyes, letting his head tilt back until it hits the bark with a dull thud. It must be nearing the end of the day but it’s just as humid and hot as it was earlier. He sighs heavily and scratches absentmindedly at his torso. If he quiets his breathing, he can hear his heartbeat pulsing under his skin, an annoying presence at the back of his head.

Except his heartbeat shouldn’t be making the ground shake.

His eyes snap open and he jumps easily into a fighting stance. Lance realizes something is off just as Keith does, rising quickly from his seat with his bayard ready against his shoulder. The ground itself is quaking, except it does so in such a steady rhythm that Keith immediately rules out the possibility of an earthquake. 

He looks over at Lance. The Blue Paladin gives him a brief smile and grits his teeth. “I was hoping we wouldn’t have to deal with whatever Coran was talking about.”

“We can handle this.” Keith tells him, but now he can actually hear his pulse as his heartrate quickens. Suddenly, Keith wishes the silence were back.

From the other end of the clearing bursts out their adversary, taking down a few trees with it. It looks like a combination of a snake and bear, with a long neck and pointed head like a serpent that attaches to a large four-legged torso. The entire thing in covered in alternating bright green and yellow scales that shimmer in the dull light and extend back into a long tail that wriggles in the grass. The serpent head opens it mouth to let out a long hiss and reveals long pointed teeth dripping with something viscous and tinged green.

They don’t even get a chance to advance before the creature is charging forward. It swipes it tail around, causing them to both jump in opposite directions. Lance fires a couple shots at the creatures left flank, distracting it enough so Keith can rush forward and slash at its other side. His blade glances off the scales, barely leaving a scratch in its wake. He grunts in frustration, then in confusion when the creature hops. It’s only when his torso is slammed and he’s sent flying into the tree line that he realizes it jumped over its own tail to smack him away like he was a fly. He slams painfully into a truck, his free arm slamming into the wood so hard the armor around his wrist cracks and sparks. 

Lance screams his name, dodging across the clearing as the creature’s head swipes at him with its ugly head. He fires off a couple of shots and backs away while its momentarily blinded.

“I’m fine!” Keith shouts back, fully knowing that Lance would be distracted until he knew he was alright.

He rushes forward again, this time trying to stab the tail. It glides away, and he barely has time to move back when the creature turns around completely to snap at him. He slashes at the creature’s face, letting out a grunt of satisfaction when he leaves a long gash that cuts between the creature’s eyes, oozing out a purple blood. It screams in pain, a cacophonous mix of a whine and a hiss as it thrusts its head forward. Keith dodges to the side, cutting at its neck as Lance fires at its side. 

Keith feels some confidence return at the sight of the creature’s blood dripping onto the ground. He focuses another attack at its face while Lance moves around its back to shoot at its tail. But it moves entirely out of the way of Keith’s attack, seemingly ignoring him completely. His heart jumps into his throat when he sees why. 

Its tail had swept Lance off of his feet, slamming him hard enough into the ground the Lance is visibly winded and momentarily defenseless. Faster than he thought his legs could move, Keith sprints around the creature’s other side and stops in a defensive position in front of Lance, who is recovering and starting to rise. Relief momentarily weakens Keith’s limbs until he locks it all up again and faces the creature with a glare. 

As the creature’s head moves in, Keith is ready to swing his sword.

But the creature is, too.

It moves out of range of the slash then returns, latching its gigantic teeth onto Keith’s blade and ripping it away. It spits it off to the side like it’s a toothpick, leaving Keith defenseless in front of its gruesome mouth. He raises his other arm, prepared to summon his shield as a last resort, but it merely splutters and crackles. His heart sinks when he remembers the armor there breaking, now leaving him without protection.

This leaves him with two options. He can jump out of the way, saving his own skin but leaving Lance at its mercy. Or he can take the hit himself.

He’ll always take the second option, even if it kills him. 

He braces himself, and the creature lurches forward, closing its sharp teeth efficiently over his left arm.

At first, it’s not as bad as Keith expects. The sharp teeth easily bite through his armor, but he thought that would happen. Then they pierce his skin, and he can take that, too. But the teeth are ridiculously long and they just keep going, pushing through his flesh and muscle like he’s made of butter. It hurts, it burns like nothing he’s felt before, but he still doesn’t scream. When he actually feels the teeth press against his bone and something snaps and gives, that when he screams. His blood drips down his mangled arm and he feels like he’s on fire. He thinks Lance is screaming behind him, but he can’t really tell over the all-consuming agony that turns his vision red. Then, mercifully, the teeth are pulling out, releasing him to collapse to his knees on the ground, bent forward so far that his nose almost presses into the dirt as he rocks back and forth, arm clutched to his chest. His breathing is ragged as he lets out intermittent cries of pain in time with the beating of his heart and his vision blurs, partially from pain and partially from the tears that are pouring down his face.

There’s more screaming above him and the repeated sounds of blaster fire for what feels like eternity before he hears the creature squeal and then stop with a thud. The forest returns to the quiet from before, save for the screaming emanating from his arm.

He wants it to stop. There’s a brief moment where clarity returns, where he hopes that Lance is okay, but then the pain returns and he wants nothing more than for it to end, whatever it takes. 

There’s another thud in front of him, but he can’t be bothered to see what it is when he’s trying so hard to simultaneously protect his arm. He hears his name called but it’s muffled, like someone’s shouting at him through water. Then there’s hands pulling his helmet off and gentle fingers on his face and he flinches, jerking his arm with the movement and letting out a pitiful whine. Someone’s shushing him, slowly pulling his head away from the ground. It has to be Lance, he knows the feeling of Lance’s gentle hands curved against his face by now.

“It’s okay, you’re okay.” He can hear faintly. “Just open your eyes for me, please look at me, Keith.”

He trusts Lance, so he does what he says. His eyelids stick as he forces them open, grimy from the tears streaming down his face. His vision is still blurry and his arm still feels like it’s actively trying to detach itself, but at least Keith can see Lance’s face, a sight that calms his heart. Lance has his helmet off, his hair sticking up in random places from sweat and his mouth pulled into a deep frown. The more Keith’s vision clears, the tinier the details he can see. There’s sweat gathered on his forehead, tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, an open wound on his lip. 

“You with me? Please be with me.” Lance begs.

Keith nods as much as he can. His neck is weak, his arm throbs, and he’s suddenly so tired, so he lets his gaze drift away from Lance’s beautiful face and towards the gray sky. It’s funny how calm everything feels now. Lance has everything handled, he could just take a little nap…

Fingers snap in front of his vision, drawing his eyes back down to Lance’s concerned face. “Nope, none of that. Come back to me.” Keith blinks in his direction and Lance must take that as a good sign. “There you go, keep your eyes on me. Everything will be fine, I promise.”

“’M fine.” Keith slurs, surprised that his voice works. Lance scoffs, his thumb delicately wiping away a stray tear. His arms spikes in pain for a moment as if to remind him of what a liar he is.

“Sure, you are, buddy.” Lance says, voice low and soft. “But I’m still gonna need to take a look at your arm.”

Keith shakes his head, but he feels heavy and tired so it’s more like his head rolls back and forth, anchored only by his neck. He lets his head fall forward, not bothering to lift it once it collides with Lance’s chest even if the armor is hard and painful. His vision is blurred when he stares down at his arm still clutched to his chest, making it look like a tie dye swirl of red, white, and black. 

“Nope, stay with me.” One of Lance’s hand moves from it’s place on Keith’s shoulder to cup his cheek and lift his face up. Keith lets him do all the work, too tired to do anything but sigh into Lance’s gentle hand. He doesn’t want to keep his eyes open and see Lance’s sad face, but Lance is so nice and his fingers are tapping below his eye so he peels them back open if only to keep him happy. “We have to know what we’re dealing with.”

Neither of his arms are functioning properly, but Keith manages to let his healthy arm drop to expose the one that’s still screaming at him. Lance grabs it gently and pulls it forward. That tiny motion is enough for the fire to start again and he lets loose a pathetic moan of pain. Lance whispers an apology, his face grave. 

“Keith,” He puts the arm back carefully on Keith’s lap. He considers his words for a moment, Keith watching as his tongue darts out to moisten his dry lips. “Why did you do that?”

“Better.” Keith forces out. He blinks rapidly to try and keep his eyes open longer. 

“Than what?” Lance chokes out. Keith’s vision focuses for a moment and he can see a few tears rolling down Lance’s cheeks. If either of his arms could function properly, Keith would reach them up to wipe the tears away. 

“You’d be dead.” Keith points out. The thought itself sends a shiver down his spine that makes his arm twinge. “Anything’s better than that.”

Lance huffs out a laugh but it’s not warm and full like it usually is. “Of course you’d say that now.” He sighs again. “Alright, we have to get you back to Blue. Let this be our lesson to never go anywhere without a first aid kit.” He moves his hands so they’re resting in his armpits. “Can you stand?”

Keith glares at his folded legs, trying to get them to move. They barely even twitch. Now that he’s thinking about his other set of limbs, he realizes that they tingle and feel heavy like clay. “My legs’re numb.” Keith says, a little shocked himself. 

He looks back up at Lance, hoping to find some reassurance on his face but instead finding intense concern. But Lance shakes his head and gives him and shaky smile. “That’s fine, it’ll all be fine. How do you want me to carry you?”

Keith considers his options. Bridal style might be most comfortable for him, but that would keep Lance’s arms occupied and leave them completely defenseless. It would be best if Lance carried him on his back, leaving his arms relatively free and Keith mostly out of the way.

He communicates this by rolling his head around instead of pointing with one of his arms and muttering, “back.” Lance nods and props Keith up, hands hovering to make sure he doesn’t tilt over then turning around. Keith tries to help by leaning against Lance’s back and moving his arms over his shoulders, but he’s not very efficient. He manages to get his right arm up but when he tries to lift his injured arm, the pain gets so intense that his vision nearly blacks out. They decide to let it hang at his side. Even if the position is agonizing and he can practically feel the blood slowly draining out of him, it’s the best option they have. Lance gives him time to recover before reaching back and wrapping Keith’s legs around his torso. Keith stares in awe at his legs, amazed at how little sensation he feels from them. 

Lance checks in one more time and counts down, heaving them both up with a grunt once he makes it to one. The movement jostles Keith’s arm, but he grits his teeth and lets his forehead fall against Lance’s neck to cope. Off to the side, he spots the creature they faced. Its body is slumped over, its head decapitated and a few feet away from the charred hole where its neck used to be. He can’t look away from its glazed eyes and gaping mouth, sharp teeth painted red with Keith’s blood.

“Is it dead?” Keith asks, feeling the need to be reassured.

“Don’t worry,” Lance says. He bends over, making Keith’s vision spin, and picks up their helmets and bayards. He slides Keith’s helmet onto his sweaty hair first then his own. Keith misses the feel of his face against Lance’s neck, but he guesses he can deal with it. “I took care of that. I’m gonna jog to get us back faster, can you handle that?”

Keith snorts and rubs his face against Lance’s shoulder, the visor keeping him from getting solid contact. “Can you handle it? ‘M not sure you can run that fast on your own.”

“Ha, ha.” Lance says. “You’re very funny.”

Lance takes off, probably much faster than he should with such rough terrain, but Keith understands the urgency. He lets himself fade away while Lance runs, distracting himself by making up a rhythm as his head bounces against Lance’s shoulders. He would take anything to distract him from the fire in his arm. It feels like his skin is melting, like his bones are being eaten away by acid and falling apart piece by piece. It’s not getting better, either. If anything, the pain is slowly but surely crawling from his forearm and spreading until he can feel his shoulder joining the throbbing. 

He feels Lance slow down, but he’s too tired to open his eyes. He can’t tell how much time has passed. Lance must be talking to him, but he can’t make out the words. He can tell that he’s slid off Lance’s back and placed down somewhere, but he doesn’t know where and his head is spinning from the movement. He could just drift off, sleep sounds so good right now and it might stop the pain, maybe even just for a little while.

Something’s touching his arm. It’s unpleasant, but not something he needs to open his eyes for so he lets it slide. Then fingers grip at something and pull and it feels like his skin is being peeled away. His eyes can’t help but shoot open and a low scream is forced from his mouth as he sits upright and tries to pull his arm away.

His vision is faded at the edges and everything else tilts to the side, but he recognizes the interior of the Blue Lion. Lance is kneeling at his left side, a first aid kit open next to him and spilling its contents onto the floor. His gloves are covered in shiny blood, poised hesitantly over Keith’s arm.

“What are you doing?” Keith mumbles. He raises his right hand, his muscles so weak he trembles, and tries to push Lance’s hands away. He misses by a longshot, swiping at empty air. He gives up and lets it fall into his lap.

“I have to clean it.” Lance’s voice is strong, but Keith knows he’s scared by the way his hands shake. “Once I clean it, you’ll be fine. We’ll just wait for a little and then we can get you to a healing pod and you’ll be fine.”

“Won’t help.” Keith shakes his head, or at least tries to. It’s more like he just rolls it around until he gets dizzy and has to stop.

Lance scoffs. “Of course it’ll help.”

“Not now.” Keith sighs. He’s still so tired and all of this talking isn’t helping. “Feels bad.”

“It’ll be fine.” Lance assures him. “But I have to clean it.”

Keith doesn’t bother arguing any more, it’s too exhausting. Lance returns to his arm, slowly removing the cracked pieces of armor. Most of them are embedded in Keith’s flesh, making him grit his teeth and slide his legs across the floor, but he doesn’t move his arm for fear of making the pain worse. 

“Done.” Lance finally says, using the back of his wrist to wipe his forehead. It’s only now that Keith notices that his helmet is off, and his is too, and he can see every detail of Lance’s face. The crinkled lines over his brow, the tiny sprinkles of blood on his cheeks, the fresh wounds on his lips where’s he’s chewed through. Keith wishes he could comfort him right now, that he could spare him this stress and worry, but he can’t even lift his arms. “Now, this part’s gonna be a lot worse, but stay with me.”

He reaches out to briefly cup Keith’s face and sighs against his warm touch. But then the warmth is gone and Lance is unscrewing a small bottle he retrieved from the first aid kit. He holds a pad of gauze to the bottle and tips it upside down. He gives Keith one last regretful stare before he starts to dab at his arm.

The pain is immediate. If his arm was on fire before, this is like adding gasoline to feed the flames. He grasps at his arm with his free hand, groaning and desperate to try anything to make it stop. Lance grips his wrist before he can do any damage, holding his right arm away while he finishes. Thankfully, Lance finally puts the disinfectant to the side and Keith slackens his arm enough that Lance lets go. The fire is still there, throbbing and pulsing but manageable. 

“You’re doing great.” Lance says. He runs his fingers through Keith’s bangs, pushing them back fondly. “I’m just gonna wrap it up then we’re done.”

Keith nods. His breathing is faster than normal, like his body is trying to expel the pain, and he’s grateful that Lance continues to run his fingers through Keith’s hair until he’s slightly calmer. Lance holds his arm in his lap and delicately wraps it in a long strip of gauze. Once he’s done, he sighs and crawls over to Keith’s good side and leans against the wall. He grabs Keith’s hand and squeezes.

“We need to get going.” Keith mumbles. His eyes are closed again. Lance’s thumb is stroking his knuckles is small circles. The motion calms him and tempts him with sleep. 

“We can’t.” Lance says. “That stupid storm won’t be over for a while.”

“Not what I mean.” He tilts over and lets his head fall on Lance’s shoulder. His armor is hard and stabs into Keith’s neck, but he’ll take what he can get at the moment. “Need to finish the mission.”

“Are you kidding me?” Lance’s voice is much louder than before, almost angry. “I think that’s the least of our worries right now. You’re hurt! If we really need to, we can come back when you’re healed.”

Keith wants to argue, but he can’t find the energy to open his mouth. He might as well just sleep if Lance is so adamant about forgetting the mission. Lance is still stroking his hand, thumb moving in lazy patterns across his skin. Keith focuses on the sensation, letting it distract him until his breathing is slowing and he’s slipping away.

When he wakes up, he can tell something’s wrong.

He’s propped against the wall still, but the chill at his side means Lance is no longer sitting with him. He’s cold without Lance near him, but that’s not the only thing that feels off. His entire left side is throbbing and his head is spinning even though he has yet to move or even open his eyes. He’s nauseous, taking long breaths through his nose to try and get it to subside. Keith doesn’t know how long he sits there, unable to do anything but try and breathe. Soon, it’s too much for him to take and he leans to his right, eyes shooting open as he retches onto the floor. 

Not much comes out, just his last meal on the castle and some disgusting bile, but it’s enough to get Lance’s attention. Keith can’t look up to see where he was in the lion, but he hears him call Keith’s name and come scrambling over at the first sign of his distress. Keith relaxes slightly when he feels Lance kneel at his side, out of the way of the vomit but still close enough so he can hold back Keith’s hair.

Keith dry retches for a while after he’s thrown up everything in his stomach, his body apparently unhappy with stopping once the job is done. When he does stop, he feels worse than before. His head still spins and his body shakes with uncontrollable tremors. Drained of whatever energy he had, Keith slumps to the side. Lance keeps him from falling into his sick, instead propping him against his side. 

“Sorry.” Keith mutters. He wants to move so he can help clean up, but his body isn’t listening. The most he can do is wince when his injury throbs harshly. 

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll clean it up later.” Lance rubs his back. “Anything I can get for you?”

Keith hums but doesn’t respond. His mouth feels weird, like it’s bordering on numb and if he were to speak it would somehow be out of sync with his words. His whole body feels out of whack, strange and unusual. In some weird way, it doesn’t feel like his. It reminds him of when he had his growth spurt as a kid, all clumsy and unbalanced.

“I got some water while you were asleep.” Lance pushes his bangs from his forehead. Keith leans into the contact, but he wishes the gloves were gone and he could feel Lance’s skin. “Think you can handle some?”

“I don’t think I trust anything from this planet.” Keith shifts his face so he’s mumbling into Lance’s neck. He smells like sweat and home. 

“Don’t worry, it’s from the castle.” Lance nudges his side, but Keith isn’t so easily moved and he holds his ground. “Come on, I can’t get you any if you don’t let me go.”

“Not worth it.” Keith sighs. “You’re better.”

“As flattering as that is, I’d feel a lot better if you drank something.” When Keith still doesn’t budge, Lance sighs. He grabs his shoulders and moves Keith away, leaning his back against the wall. Keith wants to fight back in response to this injustice, but he has no energy to move his arms. “I promise I’ll be right back.”

Lance rises, moving out of Keith’s line of sight. Lance’s departure sets off alarms in Keith’s head, but there’s nothing he can do. He can’t even roll his head to the side, too afraid that it will ruin his balance and send him crashing to the floor. He can only sit there, tense and in pain and feeling like he’s having an out-of-body experience. The sound of Lance’s footsteps returning shouldn’t comfort him as much as it does, but the alarms in his mind quickly dissipate. It must be the agony from his injury, but he could cry at the sight of Lance’s face as he sits back down with him, face tired but still kind and determined.

Keith tries to open the water pouch on his own at first, but his only usable hand shakes with exertion and he has to drop it in his lap, sweat beading on his forehead and humiliation coloring his cheeks. Lance opens it for him and holds it to his lips, letting him drink in short intervals. The cool water rests in his stomach, unsettling to his upset gut while also being a welcome weight. 

Once the pouch is empty, Lance tosses it off to the side and readjusts his position so Keith can lean heavily against him. Keith sighs into Lance’s side, letting his head flop onto his shoulder. Lance wraps his arm around his back, but he stops short of Keith’s hurt arm and runs his hand gently up and down his side. Keith can barely feel his touch beneath the bodysuit and armor, but just the pressure is enough to drain the tension from his body and make him tired again.

Lance presses a kiss to the top of his head and Keith lets out a pleased hum. “You should rest some more. I’ll be right here if you need anything.”

It’s almost too easy to follow Lance’s advice. His eyes are already sliding shut, reality falling away as Lance softly hums a song Keith can’t place.

When he wakes up again, he knows for sure that something is wrong.

His eyes are heavy with an exhaustion he’s never felt before, so draining and harsh that every attempt to open his eyelids leads to them closing again. The wounds in his arm still throb and burn, with the added sensation of a knife cutting into them and deepening the cuts. His entire body aches as if he’d just finished running a marathon and his head feels like it’s getting beaten into the wall. And there’s something wrong with his chest, something that makes every breath burn and wheeze. 

He can still feel Lance’s shoulder under his head, a small comfort compared to everything else that feels wrong.

Keith thinks he should tell Lance what’s wrong, but he can’t find the strength to do much more then let his mouth open and close like a dying fish. 

Lance, bless his soul, must have some kind of sixth sense because Keith feels him shift. “You awake?”

Keith nods, or at least tries to. He tries to clear his throat, but it feels thick despite his best efforts. Still, even if his voice crackles and breaks, he’s proud of himself for getting any sound out. “How close?”

“Til we can go back? About 10 vargas, I think.”

Keith moans and wills his body to move. His legs twitch a little, his arms remain useless, but he manages to get his head up to prop it against the wall. He peels his eyes open and even if he has to close them every few second, it’s quite the accomplishment. He can finally see Lance staring at him in concern. His lips look raw, the skin torn and sluggishly bleeding. It’s a lot darker in here than Keith remembers, even all of the lights around the cockpit look dimmer. “’S it night?”

Lance frowns and starts to bite his lip. If he could, Keith would reach up and touch the ragged flesh to get him to stop. “No, it’s morning here. Has been for a few vargas.” Lance takes his gloves off and reaches out to put his hand on Keith’s forehead. “Are you feeling okay?”

Keith tries to cough again to clear his throat, but it’s no use. He wants to chalk it all up to the ragged bite marks in his arm, but he has a gut feeling that there’s more to this than a few painful cuts. “Something’s wrong.”

There’s a deep crease on Lance’s forehead that Keith wishes he could smooth away. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t feel…right.” Every word, every breath starts a new fire in his lungs. 

Lance grabs Keith’s right hand and holds it over his heart. “What do you mean?”

Keith growls in frustration, but it quickly devolves into harsh coughs. Lance removes one of his hands to rub Keith’s back until he sucks in a long breath and relaxes. “Not just my arm.”

“If you tell me where it hurts, I could try and find something in the first aid kit.”

Keith admires Lance for trying to be positive, but he’s not sure how to put this into words. So, he just shakes his head and closes his eyes again. Lance cups the side of his face and tilts it towards him, but Keith’s too tired to look at him.

“Is there anything I can do?” Lance’s voice cracks, desperate and so scared and Keith wants nothing more than to hug him and tell him everything will be okay. But both of those things are impossible. 

“Don’t know.” Keith gasps. His lungs heave with very breath, but it feels like barely any air is actually getting in. 

Then, it suddenly gets worse. It feels like there are razors trying to scrape out his insides. His chest feels clogged and wet, like there’s something trying to climb out and he starts coughing. It’s much worse than any of his other fits. He pitches forward, his injured arm jolting awkwardly, and he would have face planted onto the floor if not for Lance’s strong arms catching him. He’s vaguely aware of Lance pulling him against his chest, of Lance whispering words of comfort that stutter and fall clumsily from his mouth. But the pain in his chest is excruciating and he can’t stop coughing and coughing and there are tears streaming down his face but that’s the least of his concerns. 

And as he coughs, something comes out of his mouth, something wet and warm and the coughing finally ends, leaving him sapped of all his strength and only supported by Lance’s arms. 

“Keith?” Lance’s voice is shaky and scared, so Keith opens his eyes and looks up at him. Lance touches his lips briefly. Keith can feel his fingers shaking as he pulls away, moving into the dim light to display a smear of red liquid. 

Keith can’t help but think of the creature’s decapitated head, mouth slick with blood. Keith wonders if his own mouth looks like that right now. 

“Stay calm,” Lance says, holding his blood covered fingers in front of him like it burns him and running his free hand through his hair. “It’ll be fine, we just have to stay calm.”

Keith groans and slumps further into Lance’s torso. If anything, the coughing fit has made him feel worse. He’s more tired than before and he thinks he can he can feel all of his organs burning and turning to mush along with his arm. 

“You’ll be fine.” Lance whispers. He rubs the blood off on his bodysuit and wipes away the tears from Keith’s face. Keith thinks that he’s mostly saying that for his own comfort. 

“Will I?” Keith sighs. He presses his face against Lance’s chest plate, wishing it would disappear. 

“Of course!” Lance sounds outraged, but Keith can’t exactly blame him. He knows he would be angry if their positions were switched. 

But it’s better this way. If nothing else, at least it’s not Lance.

“We’ll be back in the castle soon.” Lance assures him. Keith coughs and whines again and Lance is right there, wiping away the tiny droplets of blood and holding Keith tightly to his chest. “And you’ll be healed really fast. If you want, we can have a big dinner and watch movies together for as long as you want.”

Keith likes the sound of that, but he’s so tired.

“All you gotta do is fight, buddy.” Lance chokes out. Keith feels his hands in his hair, pulling apart the sweaty locks and smoothing them down. “You never go down without a fight, don’t let this be the exception.”

“Okay.” Keith whispers, his throat too coarse to permit anything louder. 

Keith doesn’t think he sleeps, but he also doesn’t think he stays awake. 

Everything is a painful whirl. His vision grows darker until he can barely make out Lance’s shape around him. His head spins and his body burns, sending him into long coughing fits that tear at his insides and spew out more blood than he thought possible. 

Pain makes him uncertain. He can’t tell is it’s been hours or seconds. He can’t tell if he’s awake or asleep, alive or dead. He can’t tell if Lance is screaming, if he’s screaming, or if anyone’s screaming at all. 

But the pain gives as much time as it takes. And with the time he’s given, he thinks. 

He thinks about the castle and all of its inhabitants. Of the paladins and Allura and Coran and the lions. He thinks about them moving on when he’s gone, of Red finding a new paladin that’s even better than him. He thinks about Allura leading a revolution and becoming the strongest diplomat the universe has ever seen. He thinks of Coran sharing his old stories and making new ones with them. He thinks about Pidge finding her family, of Hunk building incredible things and growing into himself, of Shiro finding peace.

Mostly, he thinks about Lance. About the time they wasted dancing around each other, fighting and arguing until they grew into something more. About all of their shared time, the quiet moments between battles where Lance would look over and Keith would feel like the world was ripped out from under him. About his kind smiles and kinder words, about the light that would cross his face when he talked about his family. About the feel of his lips, the fire that spread beneath his fingertips that traced over his skin.

He thinks he must know what love is now, it’s just too bad it took him dying to figure it out. 

He doesn’t know what he says out loud, if anything. He doesn’t know what he should. 

But Keith’s blessed with a moment of clarity near what he suspects is the end. His body still burns, but his mind returns to him with little resistance.

He’s changed positions since his last moment of awareness. He’s lying on his right side, head cradled in Lance’s lap as the Blue Paladin cards his fingers through his hair. He doesn’t open his eyes, not wanting to waste his strength. But that doesn’t matter, because it is almost too easy for Keith to pull up an image of Lance’s face to keep at the front of his mind. 

“Lance.” His voice is rough, tasting and feeling like he swallowed gravel. 

“Keith?”

“It’ll be okay.” Keith mumbles. The rhythm of Lance running his hands through his hair is almost hypnotic, pulling him on the verge of consciousness before he remembers this might be the last chance he has to say anything. “You’ll be okay.”

“Yes, I will.” Lance agrees. His voice is soft and low. Keith can’t tell if that’s how it really is or if his hearing’s giving in. “But you will, too. We’re so close. Just another varga and you’ll be good as new.”

That means Keith’s been out of it for nine vargas. Lance must be exhausted. Keith sure knows he is. “Won’t make it.”

“Yes you will. I know you, Keith. You have to keep fighting.”

“Too tired.” Keith mutters.

“Think of the team. Think of me.” Lance sounds like he’s choking. Something wet drops on Keith’s cheek. Lance is crying. “If you go like this, I’ll never forgive you.”

“You might be mad,” Keith reasons, his words slurring. “But at least you’ll be alive.”

“We have so much to do.” There are more tears on his cheek, so many that Keith can’t tell which one of them is crying anymore. “We have a war to finish. We have to go home.”

“You’ll be fine.” Keith’s slipping again, his mind going fuzzy and his moment of clarity fading. He can’t even remember what he wanted to say anymore. The words are vanishing from his mind, disappearing into a thick fog.

“Just stay with me.” Lance begs, but his voice is getting quieter by the second. “Stay with me, and I’ll be fine.”

Keith wants to stay, but all he can ever do is leave.

So that’s what he does.

. . . 

Now, Keith remembers his sunsets in the desert. 

Keith would wrap himself up in a blanket and sit on the roof to watch the sunset. Once it got dark, he would head inside and be met with a restless sleep that made his chest feel hollow when he woke up. 

But sometimes, he would fall asleep there. He would dream of the weird energy of the desert, of bright yellow eyes staring down at him. The gaze should have been intimidating and his dream self knew that, but all he could ever feel from those eyes was the feeling of something that almost felt like home. 

When he woke up from those nights, he felt weirdly comforted.

And on those mornings, he would stay and watch the sunrise, somehow feeling like he belonged.

. . .

Keith wakes up. 

His awareness creeps in slowly. He feels his legs, then his arms, then his torso, then his head, then the light clothes that are certainly not his armor. All of him is there. Everything is there except the pain, just an ache that will settle and two points of pressure in his right arm. He’s confused at first. If he’s dead, there shouldn’t be this strange mix of awareness and sleep, of pain and contentment.

Somehow, he must be alive.

This revelation inspires him to peel his eyes open. At first, it’s ridiculously bright and he has to squint until he adjusts, but once he recovers he easily recognizes the infirmary on the castle. He’s lying in some bed that feels like a glorified table with some pillows, but it’s better than the hard floor of Blue’s cockpit. A look to his left reveals his injured arm carefully splinted and bandaged, some spots of blood turning parts of the gauze pink. To his right he finds his arm displaying two IVs inserted and taped to his skin, both connected to tubes filled with blood that lead to a complicated machine. But to his right, Keith also finds Lance and his heart soars.

The Blue Paladin is slumped over on the bed, both hands holding Keith’s and mouth agape to let out short puffs of air. The dark circles under his eyes send a spike of guilt through Keith’s chest, but even that can’t dampen the joy he feels at seeing Lance. 

He debates letting Lance sleep longer, but he knows he wouldn’t be happy if he found out later. With both of his arms incapacitated, Keith tries to wiggle his legs to stir Lance but he’s so weak that he barely even twitches. He squeezes his hand as tight as he can. In his sleep, Lance squeezes back and shifts. Some part of him must be aware because not a moment later, Lance shoots up from the bed, eyes wide as he looks up from their joined hands at Keith’s face. 

“Keith!” Lance jumps out of his seat and drops his hand, practically launching himself at Keith to wrap him in a hug. Keith’s sore, but his only regret at the moment is that he can’t raise his arms and return the embrace. His shoulder feels wet and he realizes that Lance is crying, his tears staining his shirt and making his skin beneath sticky. 

Eventually, Lance pulls away, rubbing at his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket and pulling his seat closer to Keith’s head. He presses his hand to Keith’s cheek for just a moment and Keith gladly leans into the touch with a pleased hum. “Don’t scare me like that.”

Keith sighs and closes his eyes. “I’m sorry.” And he genuinely is, even if there is a part of him that will never regret taking a hit for Lance. They stay silent for a few seconds, both amazed to see the other again. “What happened?”

“As soon as the storm passed, I got us out of there.” Lance returns to holding Keith’s hand. His gaze is distant as he stares at the bandages striping Keith’s other arm. “That stupid snake thing was venomous, that’s why you had those crazy symptoms. Coran figured out what it was pretty quickly and found something to null the effects for a while. To make sure all of the venom is out of your system, he hooked you up to that thing.” He nods at the tubes coming from Keith’s arm. “It’s pretty much like a dialysis pump from Earth.”

Keith frowns. “No healing pod?”

Lance shakes his head. “Not yet, at least. Coran said the pod wouldn’t be able to get the venom out so it might actually make things worse. We just have to wait until you’re all clean before we can put you in.”

Keith nods and tilts his head to the side so he can stare at Lance’s face. He looks drained. Keith is afraid to ask how long it’s been, especially is Lance looks so exhausted. However long it’s been, Keith doubts that Lance has ever left. 

“I’m sorry.” Keith says again.

Lance looks surprised before his face appears to go through an entire range of emotions from fury to fondness. “I know. But Keith, you can’t ever do that again.”

“I can’t promise that.”

“I know! But you have to at least try.” Lance bites his lip. “I watched as you gave up, you were so ready to die, and I don’t ever want either of us to go through that again.”

“Me neither.” Keith says. “I care about you, I don’t want to leave if I can help it.”

“Good.” Lance nods and leans over his face, holding both sides of his face with his hands. “You’re important to me, you’re important to all of us. I want you around as long as possible.”

Lance closes the distance between their lips. The kiss is slow and desperate, a push and pull Keith feels down to his bones. Neither of them wants it to end. They both know what it’s like to let something go only for it to slip away.

When Lance does pull away, he keeps his hands on Keith face and strokes his cheekbones with his thumbs. Their eyes connect, and Keith never wants to look away. He could spend an eternity staring into Lance’s eyes, always wide and eager and as welcoming as Lance is. 

Tears gather at the corners of his eyes when he thinks about what could have been, what he would have left behind. The tears are a mixture of that heart-wrenching fear and a relief that lets him melt into Lance’s touch. He hates crying, but Lance is safe. Keith feels free when he’s around Lance, like he can let out a breath he’s been holding in for too long. 

“Are you okay?” Lance asks, wiping away the tears as they come.

“Yeah.” Keith chokes out. “I’m fine.”

He thinks about how far they’ve come. He thinks about how far they’ve all come. He thinks about all of their rough starts and mistakes, their fights and failures, and he thinks about them now. Unified and loyal, ready for anything the universe throughs at him. Keith’s proud of them all, he’s proud of himself. He used to be so lonely, so scared and suspicious. But now he’s here, and there’s no other place he would rather be. 

“The others have been pretty worried.” Lance smiles at him. “If you want, I could tell them you’re awake.”

“Sure,” Keith says with a matching smile. “I’ll be right here.”

Lance departs with a quick kiss to the forehead that makes Keith’s insides melt. Long after Lance has left, the feeling remains and Keith feels more content than he has in a long time.

As the rest of the team bursts into the room, Keith takes in each and every one of them. There are tears, and hugs, and playful threats but Keith has never felt happier.

He makes eye contact with Lance, the Blue Paladin smiling amongst their teammates. Subtly, Lance takes his hand and squeezes, acting as the anchor he needs. 

It may have taken him a while to get here, but Keith never wants to let them go.


End file.
